Who Are You?
by Aggressively Hospitable
Summary: Story based of an AU Pic done by the fabulous tissine which is the Image on this, thanks for letting me use it. In which Sokka, a Japanese warrior meets Toph in a swamp in a dream. But some dreams come true. But what happens when a certain Princess has other plans? AU Toph/Sokka. Tokka!
1. Prologue

Who Are You?

Sokka is walking through a swamp, his warrior senses attuned to any other movement and noise.

He can't remember exactly where he is or how he got there, or even exactly where he is going.

All he knows is that he's in a swamp looking for something...or someone...his mind must not be thinking clearly. He looks around and at the edges of his vision things are beginning to blur. He blinks, rubs his eyes, trying to clear up his vision. He looks down to see he's in his custom blue silk warrior robes, his katana on his belt at his waist. He grips the handle and tests his grip. He looks up to see the sunlight streaming through the tops of the trees and falling onto a woman about 40 paces from himself.

He calls out to her and she looks in his direction but doesn't make eye contact, she holds her head high and walks away from him.

He calls out again and she continues on her way, ignoring the young warrior. He begins to chase her and watches as the ribbons and sleeves on her dress flow and bounce as she breaks into a run he catches her by the arm and turns her to face him. He looks into one if the prettiest faces he's ever seen as his breath hitched in his chest.

"Who are you?" She demands, he can't say anything as he notices sightless light green eyes staring at him.

"Sokka, a warrior from..." He begins to answer.

"No, I asked who you are not what you are." She corrects, getting irritated as she moves closer. She seems to float above the ground as she comes closer. Everything around him blurs into soft greens, browns and grays, but she looks like a goddess in front of him, he has to think extra hard to even answer her.

"I'm Sokka, a..."

"No, try again. Who. Are. You?" She asks she tilts her head curiously as she comes closer. His nose is filled with the smell of wild flowers and...metal? Her body rises and floats in front of him, he can't move as she comes impossibly close to him, he is hopelessly and completely enveloped by her. She reaches out to him, gently running her cool finger tips across his face, igniting a fire within his soul. She holds his face and brings hers so close their noses touch and their breath intermingles.

"Who are you?" She whispers.

"I'm yours." He whispers back to what must be this goddess in his midst.

He sees her grin and tries to wrap his arms around her as he leans toward her to plant a feather light kiss on her petal soft lips.

But while his lips meet hers, his arms hold nothing but air and she starts to mist away.

"Wait! Don't leave me." He begs. She simply grins wider and begins to vanish faster.

"Come and find me then my warrior." She challenges as she disappears.

"But I don't even know your name..." Sokka says sadly.

Sokka wakes with a start as he sits up in bed, looking around for her. He can't smell the swamp or the flowers or the...metal? Why would he smell metal in the middle of a swamp? He ponders the aspects of his dream, wondering where in the world his mind would come up with such a thing.

"Who are you?" He asks aloud, not only to his dream girl but also, to himself.


	2. Ambassador or Warrior Sokka?

Who Are You?

Sokka didn't really have an answer. He sat up further and ran his fingers through his hair as he thought about it.

Sokka was the nephew of the Chief of Hotaru. He was a very skilled and disciplined Samurai warrior. He had trained in swordsmanship and combat at an extremely young age, he was methodical, cunning and imaginative. He was also honorable, courageous, confident and handsome or so all the local girls would say, of course they thought he was hilarious too if not just a tad too sarcastic, but he thought it added to his charm. So even though he was a non-bender, he felt he could still hold his own against almost anyone.

A knock at his door interrupts his thoughts.

"Sokka, are you up? Your uncle is here to talk to you." His mother asked through the door.

"Yeah, I'll be right there." Sokka replies as he rolls out of bed and gets ready quickly. He comes into his living room to see his father and his uncle, who also happens to be the Chief, sipping their morning tea quietly. Both are wearing unreadable facial expressions, he looks to his mother who looks pleased.

He sits and looks to the men expectantly.

"Sokka, the council has decided to send you as our Ambassador to Republic City. You will leave in a week." His Chief informed him.

Sokka nodded at the news, not really surprised. He had been itching to get off Hotaru for years, now he had his chance. Republic City was supposed to be the embodiment of all nations living together peacefully and he was honored that he was chosen to be the Ambassador for his peoples.

"Thank you Chief." Sokka replies with another nod and a smile.

After the necessary details are discussed, his uncle leaves and Sokka can't stop grinning, he was finally going to be leaving, finally on his own and free, well, kind of.

That night he has the same dream, he's in a swamp, searching for her. She asks him the same question and no matter how many times he tries to answer, she is never satisfied until he says 'I'm yours'. When he reaches out to hold her this time, she lets him, he feels her weight within his arms. It's as real as the wildflower and metal smell that's in his nose, as real as her fingertips tracing his face, as real as the feeling that at any moment his heart will explode out of his chest because it's beating so fast because her petal soft lips are brushing against his own, he swears to Agni that he can taste her, she's sweet yet slightly salty, like she's been crying. While he holds her he can tell she's small, petite but immensely powerful and he can't help but love that about her, his mystery woman. He asks her for her name but all she does is smirk at him, the same infuriating smirk she wore last time. She begins to mist away again before offering the same taunt.

"Come and find me then my warrior."

Sokka wakes with a start again, it's the middle of the night and for the life of him he can't fall back asleep. Every time he closes his eyes, her face is there, her unseeing eyes capturing his curiosity while the rest of her captures his soul. He wonders if it's a message from the spirit world.

The rest of the week goes on like this, each dream becoming brighter, more intense. Each one leaving his heart more aching and hollow, each one pulling at his emotions, he feels an overwhelming sense to be protective over her to the point he almost questions his own sanity.

When he finally arrives in Republic City he releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. It was an odd sense of relief, he couldn't really name it. After getting settled he walked around the city, staking out the best take out restaurants. He did after all, like to eat, really anything where meat was the focal point.

The next morning he comes into the council room and takes his designated seat only to smell wildflowers and metal. His head whips around to try and find the source of the smell. He sees three armored cops, a shorter petite woman with two men following her. Her hair is in an odd, bun? Is that what you would call that? But her bangs are so thick and hang in her eyes, how does she see past them? She maneuvers around the room with ease and takes a seat designated for the Chief of Police.

Sokka's eyebrows raise slightly at the realization. Well, Republic City is all about peace and equality right? So it would make sense to have a woman in such a high position within the city. But she's too far away to make out her face.

"Do you have a death wish son?" Asks an older woman beside him.

"Beg your pardon?" Sokka asks as he turns to her. She chuckles and turns slightly in her chair to face him better.

"The name is Layla, I'm the Ambassador for the Kudo Islands. I see you trying to get a better look at the Chief of Police. Her name is Toph Beifong and forgive me for being forward or rude but, it is best to simply stay out of her way and stay out of trouble." Layla offered as she turned back to her paperwork.

The meeting was more interesting then Sokka would have thought. But when it was Toph's turn to talk, Sokka was struck speechless. Her voice was the same, if not a bit rougher and harsher than in his dreams. This was beyond coincidence, it was uncanny, this had to be a message from the spirit world, there was no other possible explanation.

After the meeting he watches with interest as she gets up to walk past him again. Again the same wildflower and metal smell arrests his attention. She stops along with her companions as her head turns in his direction.

"Who are you?" Toph asks.

"Chief Beifong, this is Sokka, the new Ambassador from Hotaru." Layla answers for Sokka who bows as a sign of respect. Toph simply nods and gives a half grin.

"Uh huh. So do you actually know how to use that katana or is it just for show?" Toph asks as she gestures toward the sword at his waist.

"I do. I am a Samurai after all." Sokka replies proudly.

"Just keep it sheathed when you're in the city. The last thing I need is a tourist trying to 'defend his honor' by challenging some knuckle head to a sword fight and end up in jail. Because it doesn't matter who you are, you break the law, you go to jail. Are we clear on that?" Toph asks, putting her hands on her hips for emphasis, clearly unimpressed with him.

"Yes Chief Beifong." Sokka replies.

"Good." She replies with a smirk as she leaves.

"And that, was her being really nice." Layla says as she packs up her things and leaves him standing there, staring at the retreating form of his mystery girl.

_Author's notes-_

_Ok I would like to give a special thanks to feliipsun, Alaburn, , ArtIsExplosion27, Tokka who invent Beastly Ravens and Da'Ink for all your faves, reviews, follows and encouragement. It means more to me then you will ever know. _

_Next, please keep in mind this is AU so certain details about the characters and their backgrounds have and will be changed but I will do my best to keep them within 'character' more or less. _

_Again, this is my first time writing for ATLA so please go easy on me. I do however accept reviews, faves, constructive criticism and suggestions with open arms. _

_Also tissine, the artist who drew the cover art for this fic, (that inspired this fic to begin with) has given me permission to use her art which I am ever so grateful for because I can't draw, I try to attempt to write but I can by no means draw. _

_So thank you so much for reading and I hope to hear from you. _


	3. Mountain Evergreen Forests Meet the Sea

Who Are You?

Chapter 2

Every instinct was telling Toph to run. Granted she was in the middle of the council chamber and she just couldn't _**do that **_because she was the Chief of Police and that would be showing weakness. But what she could do is walk away with her head held high. There was no way she was going to show that this 'Ambassador', 'Warrior' or whatever he was, had an effect on her.

She acted like nothing was bothering her as she told her deputies she needed a moment of silence to balance out all the bull shit she heard at council. They chuckled at her crudeness and let her be. She steps into her office and raises a soundproof barrier of stone around her as she takes swings at the walls for reasons she can't explain. She feels agitated, paranoid and worst of all- weak, scared and wanting. She hates this feeling, she's been having it for a little over a week now and this 'Sokka' just brought it out in the worst way.

Damn the spirit world or whoever and whatever was doing this to her. She sinks to the floor, her armor scratched and dented from the impacts, she takes a moment to straighten it all out as she tries to think clearly.

Something was going on and she didn't like it.

It all started about a week ago. She started having this dream, she can sense she's in a swamp of some sort, she can sense the mud within the water and the tree roots snaking through the ground beneath her feet. She hates the swamp, nothing is ever solid. What makes it worse is she's in this ridiculous dress. She hates dresses with a passion.

She hears someone call out to her, she tries to simply walk away but she can sense him chasing her. Now while in real life she would stand her ground and show whoever is foolish enough to chase her exactly why that's a bad idea, she feels the need to run, so she does, she can feel the dress bounce and flow around her but panic begins to rise in her chest as she senses him catching up to her. She suppresses the scream as he grabs her arm and forces her to stop. She asks who he is but all he does is describe what he is, not who he is. But he doesn't sound like he's going to hurt her, if anything, he sounds relieved and nervous. That's when she starts to grin.

_**She **_makes **_him _**nervous. Oh she can work with that.

She steps closer to him, asking who he is again and he stutters and stammers. She suppresses a chuckle as she reaches out to him, tracing his face, figuring out what he would look like. While she does this, a smell envelops her, it's like mountain evergreen forests meets the ocean, along with a very manly but clean scent that she can't name, it's a very soothing smell. She relaxes and feels like he is her anchor in an otherwise unstable environment before she feels him just barely kiss her, she pulls away, feeling herself start to float away from him. He begs her not to leave, well if he wants her, he's going to have to find her.

She wakes up and puts her feet on the ground, stomping to get a seismic reading on her surroundings. They answer back that she's home. She sighs in relief before laying back into bed to ponder as to why her mind would come up with such an odd dream.

She goes through her routine as though nothing is wrong. She is the Chief of Police, she wears a literal suit of armor, there can be no kinks or nicks in her armor, whether physically or mentally or whatever the case may be. She has worked too damn hard for too long to get where she is and she is **not** going to let some stupid dream shake her.

And the audacity of even her subconscious to think she needs or even _**wants**_ some guy to chase her or even in her life is... ridiculous, insane even. She is Toph Beifong. The winner of the last 12 Earth Rumbles in a row, despite being 'blind' she can still kick anyone's ass and isn't afraid of anything, or so she likes to believe.

It wouldn't be so bad if she didn't keep having this dream over and over again. Every time she makes him chase her, it's like she wants him to catch her, wants him hold her, make her feel wanted and dare she say it, safe. He's a warrior, a fighter, he's handsome and his voice sends shivers down her spine as he holds her, overwhelms her with everything he is. She both loves and hates this feeling because it's so not her. She feels betrayed by these new feelings and she doesn't like it but she can't help it. Agni knows she's tried too.

She just wishes she could explain why _**her heart**_ jumped and fluttered when she smelled that same mountain evergreen forest mixed with the ocean smell when she walked in the council room. She tried to ignore it and move on, her mind must be playing tricks on her.

But after the meeting, she walked by 'the new guy' and smelled it again. She just had to stop and make sure he was real.

But it wasn't fair. What evil spirit gave her these dreams, taunting her with this man and then pulls him out of her dreams and makes him flesh and blood and places him right in front of her?

She didn't know that the stupid spirits would take her seriously and actually **make **him find her. Oh Agni, he even _**sounded **_like him. He was even wearing the sword, not just any sword either, but a katana, a very specialized sword that only Samurai wear. And Sokka even said he was a Samurai, a Warrior for Agni's sake.

But if he said he was a Warrior, why is he an Ambassador?

That part didn't really make sense.

Ambassador's were just another kind of politician and all politicians made her skin crawl. They all say one thing and do another. Liars in essence, full of hot air and empty words. Warriors were supposed to have a code of honor, supposed to be courageous, tough and strong. They lived by actions, they were solid and trustworthy, to a degree anyway. A man can't be both, he is either are one or the other.

She felt a knock on the door and let down her barrier.

"Yes Deputy Ling?" She asks, irritated that she was disturbed.

"Sorry to interrupt you but you have visitor." Ling replied. Toph furrowed her brows.

"Who?" She asks, folding her arms over her chest.

"Ambassador Sokka from Hotaru, Chief." Ling answers.

"Why? I already spent my morning cooped up with dozens of politicians, they have taken too much time out of my day already, I have no intention of wasting any more time on them. Besides we have more important things to do." She replies curtly.

"Well it's a good thing I'm not a politician then." Sokka cuts in with a smug smirk. Toph clenches her fists and her jaw. Damn, how could she **_not_** feel him standing there?

"I'm not a babysitter or a tour guide _Ambassador_. I have better things to do like keeping this city safe." She quips back turning to him and standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. She felt like picking a fight all of a sudden.

"I never asked for either and just because I was chosen by my Chief to be an Ambassador does not make me a politician. I am here to represent my people, my culture and look out for them. I don't see why you would find that so hateful." He calmly replies with a shrug as he tries to look through her bangs to make eye contact but can't because her bangs are in the way. She furrows her brows together and puts her lips to a thin line.

"So why are you here?" She asks through slightly gritted teeth. She couldn't explain why she was being particularly hateful towards him. Maybe because she felt drawn to him and she's rebellious, even against herself.

"I wanted to see if there was anything I should be aware of to not do to get on your bad side, apparently seeing you outside the council room is one of them." He smartly replied.

"Yes and wasting my time is another." She snapped back. Oh this guy was irritating and if he keeps it up he was going to get bruises for being a smart ass.

"Good to know, have a nice day Chief Beifong." He replies, walking past her to leave, that same scent filling her lungs as her nose follows him. Damn her nose and lungs for inhaling his scent like a drug. And damn her heart for fluttering like it did. Why was her body and emotions betraying her?

_Authors Notes:_

_Again really big thanks to Da'Ink, Tokka who invent Beastly Ravens, ArtIsAnExplosion27, caolin. brenhodt , Alaburn, feliipsun, P. Rose 205, MacCo03, Fruipit and emcateer90 for all of your reviews, faves, follows and encouragement. You have no idea how happy it makes me and gives me the drive to crank this story out.  
Also I would like to apologize for the language, but in my mind, Toph is a bad ass. Therefore I feel she would occasionally curse. If that offends you, I'm sorry but...get over it.  
Also I know, this is incredibly predictable chapter but again I'm laying groundwork here. I put details in here that will come into play later. For instance, why would Sokka taste tears when he's kissing Toph in the dreams? Well there's an answer for that later on. Also why would Toph feel it's an 'evil spirit' doing this to her? Just some thing to think about my dears.  
In the mean time, all of you Tokka fans are rock stars and as usual, I accept constructive criticism, comments, faves and suggestions with open arms.  
Thank you for reading _


	4. Bribe

Who Are You?

Chapter 3

Toph walks into her office and smells the, still hot, fire cakes and doughnuts on her desk. She also smells the faint mountain evergreen forest meets the sea smell- a smell her brain immediately associates with Sokka, the Warrior who- no, he was an Ambassador. Am-bass-a-dor Sokka, the guy who apparently finds delight in annoying her with his presence for reasons she will never say out loud.

She stomps and finds she is alone, she steps out of her office and stomps again, she can't feel Sokka anywhere near her.

"Deputy Ling!" She calls.

"Yes Chief?" He answers.

"Why is there a box of fried pastries on my desk? And more importantly, _**why was Ambassador Sokka in my office?!**_" She demands, making a few officers around her stop and stare but as soon as she turns her head in their direction, they move on because they recognize a woman on the war path when they see one and they were not ready to be collateral damage.

"I-I- he dropped them off just a couple of minutes ago Chief, he said he wanted to apologize for upsetting you yesterday." He answers nervously.

"Oh really? Then I have something I need to do _**alone**_." Toph growls as she storms out and marches the the Ambassador's home.

When she gets there she pounds on the door. She senses him coming and steels her nerve.

"Good morning Chief Beifong..." Sokka starts to say before she cuts him off.

"I should arrest you for bribery!" She shouts at him, poking him in the chest. Granted a very hard, well muscled chest meets the tip of her finger and almost makes her shiver because she realizes she's poking skin not cloth but then again, she's heard about the clothing Samurai wear and it's probably just a deep V opening on his robes. Because he wouldn't come to the door shirtless...would he?

"Excuse me?" Sokka asks, flabbergasted at her response.

"You came into _**my office **_with a box of fried pastries, that can be seen as a bribe. That's an arrestable offense. And just because I am a law enforcement officer, does that automatically mean I like sweet fried pastries? What is wrong with you? Do you not have a brain in that head of yours? Or is it all meat in there? Oh, that would be a good nickname for you, Ambassador Meat Head." She seethed. Sokka just stared at her with his jaw hanging open in complete shock.

"You need to step inside before more people start staring." He said as he grabbed her elbow and pulled her inside and shut the door.

"What have I done to make you so angry with me?!" He asked, ready to pull his hair out.

"You've tried to bribe me and you've pestered me." She answered, her fists clenched at her side, ready to start swinging.

"I have done no such thing! I just don't want to be on your bad side which I apparently got on yesterday, I don't know how but I did, so I tried to make amends by getting you your favorite breakfast, or so Deputy Ling said. It was definitely not a bribe." Sokka argues.

"Why do you want to be on my good side anyway?" Toph asks.

"I don't want to be on anyone's bad side, plus it wouldn't hurt to have a friend in this city..." Sokka trails off slightly.

"You? You want to be my friend?" She asks, not believing her ears.

"Why not? I don't think it would hurt anything." Sokka replies.

"I do not make friends with Ambassadors or politicians." She replies with a huff.

"Like I said, I'm not a politician. I was _**chosen**_ to come here by my Chief, an honor I couldn't turn down. I'm a Samurai Warrior for Agni's sake! I live by a code of honor and ethics. I'm honest, disciplined and dependable. I have no other agenda besides representing my people to the best of my abilities so why are you so determined to hate me?!" Sokka demands ready to actually pull his hair out.

"Because...you...ugh, never mind." Toph replies, unable to think of a response other then- 'Because you're a man from my dreams who chases, catches, holds then kisses me in that order every night and I love it.' and not sound crazy.

"Well I'm sorry if I've rubbed you the wrong way or am catching you on all your bad days." He replies.

"Why won't you look me in the eye?" Sokka asks after a moment of silence. Toph laughs mirthlessly and moves her bangs from in front of her eyes.

"Because I'm blind, dumb ass, I am told it 'unnerves' people to see my eyes so I've grown my bangs out." She answers.

"It doesn't unnerve me. I think they're pretty actually." Sokka compliments despite the insult. He was going to kill her with kindness because he didn't know how else to deal with someone like her. Toph raises an eyebrow in lieu of his compliment.

"Uh huh, yeah, meat head for sure." She teases.

"So if you're blind, how do you move around as well as you do?" Sokka asks, choosing to ignore the jab.

"I'm an earth and metal bender. I can sense things through the ground, in effect 'see' what's around me." She explained.

"Oh, that's pretty remarkable actually. So you must have sensed my katana, that's how you knew it was there." Sokka comments.

"Yeah." Toph replies, starting to relax a bit although slightly frustrated because he wasn't fighting back or giving in.

"Can I ask you something?" Sokka asks, trying not to sound nervous. Toph can feel his elevated heart rate and smirks. _**She **_makes _**him**_ nervous. Again, she can work with this.

"Shoot."

"Why do you smell like wildflowers?" Sokka asks bravely. Toph's eyebrows shoot to her hairline, well she certainly wasn't expecting that.

"Why do you smell like evergreen forests and the ocean?" She fires back, trying not to reveal how much his question has thrown her off balance.

"Because that's where I lived before I came here, that's home for me, so inevitably my clothes will still smell like that, does that bother you?" Sokka replies.

"No, just...curious. My shampoo smells like wildflowers because my mother insists that I'm too much like a man, so I use the girly shampoo while continuing to act, dress, drink and cuss like a man, you got a problem with that?" Toph challenges, but her words are loosing their bite. Damn, how is he undermining her defenses and disarming her so easily?

"Nope, not at all, it's a nice change to see a woman hold her own." He compliments again, letting his charm work it's magic.

"Says the man who comes from a culture where women have few rights and little say so when it comes to how they live their lives." She points out, again trying desperately to start a fight. Sokka lets out an exasperated sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose, so much for his 'magic charm'.

"Just because that's technically in my culture does not mean I agree with it or live that way myself." He replied, trying not to sound agitated.

"So you don't order your wife around to clean up after you and cook for you, do your laundry and the like?" Toph asked, well, taunted, as she crossed her arms over chest.

"No, I don't have a wife. And if I did, I certainly wouldn't 'order her around'. That would be demeaning to both her and to myself, anyone who does that brings shame and dishonor on his house. A wife is to be respected above all else, since it is she who determines whether the household is happy and successful or not." Sokka fires back. 'Assume much?' He wanted to add. Is that how everyone viewed his culture? If so then he had more work to do then he thought.

"Oh..." Toph replied softly, surprised at his answer while realizing she didn't really want to fight him after all if that was how he saw things, she could tell through the vibrations from his heart beat that he was telling the truth. It was such a steady, strong heartbeat too. Damn it, her mind was wandering.

"So...did you even try the fire cakes?" Sokka asked, changing the subject.

"No, I didn't want to be guilty of accepting a bribe." Toph answered with a smug smirk.

"Of course not." Sokka sarcastically quipped as he shook his head and smiled despite himself.

"Hey, a Police Chief can't be too careful." Toph replied.

"I'm sure that's true but you have this city pretty much under wraps, I would imagine that most of your force is tracking down over due library books because of a lack of crime." Sokka said as he leaned against the wall with his arms casually crossed across his chest.

"Ha! I wish. Although this city saw a 20% decrease in crime since I became Police Chief." She boasted.  
"Oh I don't doubt it, you're probably the toughest cop on the force and you've probably worked your ass off to get where you are. I commend you." Sokka said.

"Damn right I have. It's been tough but well worth it." Toph replied proudly.

"You're not a bender are you." Toph added. It was a statement rather then a question.

"No I'm not." He confirmed.

"You don't seem upset about that fact." Toph noted.

"Why dwell on an ability I don't have? I would rather think about things I can do vs. things I can't." Sokka explained.

"Me too." Toph said in agreement, although she was referring to her lack of sight. But at least they both had a small understanding of what it was to not have something other people took for granted.

"I should warn you, be prepared for bodily harm and nick names if you're going to be hanging with me. It's just my way. So I will see you around meat head." Toph said as she punched his arm and left.

"Well, that was...different." Sokka said to himself as he rubbed his arm and looked at the door, wondering what he had just gotten himself into.

"That...was different." Toph said to herself as she walked back to the station feeling oddly relieved that she had been wrong about a person for once.

That night the dream came again. Toph found herself in the same swamp, in the same stupid dress. But this time, she was going to find her warrior, not the other way around. She tried to feel for him but he wasn't there, she called but he didn't answer. A new kind of panic rose in her chest, she started calling out to him and ran as fast as she could before she heard him, he was calling out for her, only this time, he used her name. She ran in the direction of his voice, she called out to him before sensing he was running toward her.

She smiled as she opened her arms and leaped for him, knowing he would catch her. He didn't disappoint as two strong arms wrapped around her and held her tight.

"I was so worried, I couldn't find you, I called and called for you..." Toph admitted with a broken sob into his chest while she inhaled his scent, letting it saturate her lungs and wash peace over her troubled soul. He just held on to her tighter.

"It's ok Toph, you're never going to loose me, never." He promised as he nuzzled into the crook of her neck and shoulder.

"I'll hold you to that." She replied, her face still buried in his chest. She felt the deep rumble in his chest as he began to laugh and couldn't help but smile a little.

"I was afraid." Toph admitted after a while, as she fingered the edges of his Samurai robes, noting how soft they were beneath her fingertips.

"Afraid of what?" Sokka asks as he pulls back just enough to look at her.

"That I couldn't find you, you finally found me and I couldn't find you." She replied, allowing a tear to run down her cheek as she fisted the front of his robes, reveling in the warmth that radiated from him. He brushed the tear away with the pad of his thumb while still keeping an arm secured tightly around her waist.

"I'll always find you Toph." Sokka assured her.

"Always." Sokka said as he sat up in bed before realizing he was all alone.

_Author's Notes- _

_Again a really big thanks to Da'Ink, Tokka who invent Beastly Ravens, ArtIsAnExplosion27, carolin,. brenholdt, Alaburn, feliipsun, P. Rose205, MarCo03, Fruipit, emcateer90, PurpleFluffCloudOfDoom (fantastic name btw), bennica lover 45 and MrJanzz for all the faves, follows, reviews and encouragement. Again I really can't tell you all enough how much it means to me. You Tokka fans are the best. _

_So...you know how you try to fight with someone and they diffuse it rather then fire back? Yeah...that was where I was trying to go with this. _

_I know I had Sokka OOC and I'm sorry but he needed to be to break down Toph as quickly as he did. Yes I know it's fluffy but if you know me at all, I can not resist fluff so again, sorry but it will get heavier later on. I promise_

_In case you missed it, yes they share the same dream, for very good reasons. And by a show of hands (ridiculous I know but bear with me) who thinks that Sokka actually came to the door shirtless? Anyone? _

_Well I guess you're just going to have to read the next chapter to find out. (No, that wasn't me laughing evilly at all...you must be hearing things.)_

_So thank you so much for reading and enjoy. _


	5. A Warrior's Intuition

Who Are You?

Chapter 4

Sokka threw his pillow across the room in frustration with a feral growl. Why was this happening to him? He didn't even get to kiss her this time, he was leaning in for it, he had his eyes almost closed and POOF he wakes up. He never had to look that hard for her before and she had never been that scared. It broke his heart to see her that way, it was even worse when she cried.

He tried to even out his breathing and calm down. It was _**just a dream**_. Just a dream that repeated itself every night for the last week and a half that made him never really want to wake up. He had answered her taunt, even unknowingly and subconsciously, he found her. But she wasn't anything like what he expected. Dear sweet Agni she was feisty, stubborn, tough as nails and outspoken. She was unlike every other woman he had ever met, not to mention drop dead gorgeous...

And what was he thinking? Coming to the door without a shirt on? To **a blind woman no less.** Maybe he was a 'meat head' or so she claimed. Did he really think he could get by on his looks and charm which clearly couldn't and wouldn't work on her?

Normally all he had to do is smile and throw a little bit of charm around and he either got what he wanted or got off the hook. Obviously those tactics were now absolutely useless. He had to form a new game plan. There was something drawing him to her. He didn't know if it was the design of some spirit or not but at the moment he just didn't care.

He got out of bed and went to the exercise in courtyard this house had, grabbing his katana on his way out. If he couldn't sleep, the least he could do is at least practice his forms, something he's been neglecting lately.

Toph wakes up and immediately starts cursing. Ugh, she didn't even get to kiss him this time! Didn't whatever evil spirit that was doing this to her have better things to do other then taunt her? She sits up and puts her feet on the floor and stomps, yep, she's all alone.

And why the hell is she sad about that? And why does her heart wish that the dream was real?

She gasps at that realization. Since when does she actually _**want**_ to be held, kissed and protected against her fears? She groans as she rubs her hands over her face in the darkness.

And why is it always _**him**_ in her dreams and not someone else? Why does she take such great pleasure in having _**him**_ hold her, _**him **_comforting her, _**him**_ being her anchor? Why does her mind, body, heart and soul _**crave him**_? It was bad enough having him in her dreams but did he have to just pop up out of nowhere and be in her reality too? As impossible and unlikely as it was.

Then why did her heart recognize his presence in the council room only moments before her nose picked up on his smell? Why did she feel drawn to him?

_Why are you fighting this?_ An inner voice asked.

"Because...this doesn't feel right." Toph answered aloud.

_But you're not saying it feels wrong though, are you? _

"Damn it, get the hell out of my head whatever you are." Toph growls.

_No, nice try. I'm not done with you._

"_**GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!**_" Toph screamed as she stood up out of bed. The house shook and a piece of rock fell from the ceiling, knocking her out.

Toph finds herself treading water, she can't feel the bottom, she can't sense any earth or metal around her and she can't help but panic.

_Calm down Toph. _

"Don't tell me to calm down you sick son of a bitch!" Toph manages to scream as she desperately tries to keep her head above water.

_Now, now. Is that any way to speak to a benevolent spirit that's only trying to help you?_

"You're trying to kill me!" Toph screeches as her head dips below the water before she feels someone grab the back of her clothes to pull her up just enough so her head and shoulders are above the water.

_Toph, you're being unreasonable. I am not evil, no matter how much you think I am. I'm here to help you. I've done this to warn you. There is storm coming, you will need an anchor to weather it. Otherwise, you'll drown._

And with that she was let go and she dropped back into the freezing cold water and she flailed and tried to scream before she felt herself start to sink.

"Sokka!" Toph screamed into the water as she tried to touch the surface. She felt him come and grab her under her arms and drag her to the surface.

"You're ok, Toph. You're ok, I got you. You're safe now." He soothed as he swam them to a safety.

Toph woke up in the hospital with the worst head ache in her life.

"What the hell happened?" She croaked as she tried to reach up and feel her head.

"You were found unconscious in your house Chief." Deputy Ling answered.

"What?" Toph asked, she still has to be dreaming.

"Were you attacked last night Chief?" Ling asked.

"Yes, I mean...no. No I was not." Toph answered, biting the inside of her cheek. She couldn't tell him what happened, she couldn't tell _**anyone**_ what happened.

"Chief, when we came to your apartment it looked like someone used it for the next Earth Rumble. The walls have cracks, the tiles came down from the ceiling and the floor looked like an earth quake came through. You were found passed out, on the floor, surrounded by rubble, next to your bed. So far, nothing appears to be missing. But, I will ask you again, who attacked you?" Ling explained in all seriousness.

"Who found me?" Toph asked as she struggled to remain calm.

"You'll be pissed when you find out." Ling warned.

"Who. Found. Me?" Toph asked through gritted teeth.

"Ambassador Sokka." Ling answered.

"What?!" Toph asked as she sat up straight but immediately regretted it since her head felt like it was now going to actually explode. She crashed back into her pillow, clutching her head.

"We still don't know the how or the why. He's in the waiting room, he won't eat, drink or go home until he knows you're awake and that you're ok." Ling replied.

Toph laid in bed for a moment, trying to understand everything she was hearing.

"Deputy Ling, listen to me very carefully. I was not attacked. I simply had a very vivid...nightmare that I happened to react badly to. I'm fine. Tell Ambassador Sokka that I'm grateful for his assistance and to go home." Toph said as steadily as she could.

"Yes Chief." Ling replied, getting up and leaving. Once Toph felt he was a safe distance away she could feel herself start shaking again. She tried to steady and control herself as she rolled onto her side and curled up. She felt like a child again in the worst way. She fought so hard not to cry, unsuccessfully but she damn it she was trying. She heard a knock on the door and struggled to reign in her emotions.

Meanwhile in the waiting room Sokka sits and fidgets. A healer comes and sits next to him.

"Warrior Sokka I presume." She says as she sits. He looks up and eyes her warily. She looks like a young healer, or at least she dresses the part but when he looks at her eyes, his heart freezes. They are the same color as arctic glaciers.

"Yes..." He replies warily. She gives him a predatory smile before continuing.

"I have a message for you." She says smoothly. He looks at her hands to see they aren't holding anything.

"You will need an anchor to weather the storm that's coming. You can't stay in the swamp forever."

Then she blinked and the arctic color was gone from her eyes, leaving a deep cerulean blue behind as her face took on a more concerned expression.

"Ambassador Sokka? Is something wrong?" She asked, her voice higher and sweeter then it was before.

"What did you say?" He asked as he tried to get his heart going again.

"I said Chief Beifong is awake now, she's showing no signs of any ill effects from the concussion. I just wanted to let you know. Thank you again for bringing her in." She said as she got up and walked away. Then Deputy Ling came into his field of vision.

"Ambassador Sokka, Chief Beifong is awake and wanted to me to inform you that she's fine and that you should go home now, thanks for everything." Ling said as he held out his hand for a friendly handshake.

"You're welcome, but I would really like to see her for myself before I go." Sokka replied as he stood up and shook Ling's hand.

"I don't think she wants to see anyone. But I will let her know. But I have a few questions for you if you have a minute."

"Sure." Sokka replied.

"How did you of all people find her? You don't even live anywhere near her, it's not like you could have heard her. Not even her neighbors heard or felt anything despite the state of the house which is another matter entirely but what I want to know is why it was you that found her first."

Sokka paused and tried to think of a way to explain it without it sounding ludicrous.

"Before I came here, I was a warrior and I believe that something can be said for a warrior's intuition. I just sensed something was wrong and followed my feet. I heard her scream and broke the door down, I thought she was being attacked but when I didn't find anyone else but her there that's when I called the police then you arrived." Sokka explained.

"Well praise Agni for your warrior's intuition then. Thank you. I'll let the Chief know you wish to see her." Ling said as he walked away.

'How on earth did _**NO ONE**_ hear or feel anything?! I could both hear and feel her from blocks away.' Sokka thought to himself. He closed his eyes and the cold, ice blue eyes flashed in his mind causing him to shiver.

But then again, maybe it was a good thing no one heard her screaming _**his name**_. But not in anger, but as a cry for help. He really didn't know how he managed to break down her granite door either. There were a lot of unanswered questions. Especially since it appears there was a spirit messing with him. How else could you explain that freakish interaction he had with that healer?

After a thorough examination from the healers, Toph was told that she needed to rest and would be sent home within the hour. But her biggest surprise was the feeling of relief wash over her as Sokka entered the room. She never thought the smell of mountain evergreen forests and the ocean would be so soothing, but it was beginning to be more then that, there was something else in there that she couldn't put her finger on.

Now while Toph would probably be the last person to care about what she looked like or what other people thought of her, she had a feeling she looked like a mess and inwardly groaned at what Sokka would think of her now.

Sokka stopped dead in his tracks as he saw her propped up by a mound of pillows on the bed. Her hair was down and tumbled down around her. He never thought she had that much hair, let alone that it was so long, it looked like it would reach her waist. She looked ethereal as she laid there.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he tried to remember how to breathe, let alone walk.

"I'm fine." She said, trying to put up her walls again.

"If you say so..." Sokka replied with a crooked grin as he pulled a chair up to the side of her bed.

"Yes I say so. You've seen for yourself that I'm fine, so why don't you go home meat head?" She asked, still trying to hold on to the last vestiges of her tough exterior. She couldn't let him see her like this. She couldn't let anyone see her without at least one level of armor on. Sokka just shook his head and chuckled as he sat down to look her over again.

"But since you're here, do you mind telling me how you of all people came into my house in the middle of the night? Because I didn't think you knew where I lived and I know I don't live anywhere near where you do so it couldn't be that you were out for a jog or strolling through the neighborhood." Toph said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I broke your door down." Sokka answered.

"What?! How did you do that? That thing is solid granite, you would have to be one hell of an earth-bender or extremely strong to even budge it when it's locked."

"I don't know what to tell you. One minute I'm in my courtyard going over fighting stances the next I'm running like a madman across town to your house, I really had no idea where you lived, but somehow my feet did and when I got there I heard you scream so I somehow broke your door down and found you passed out on the ground next to your bed, surrounded by rubble. I picked you up and put you on your bed to make sure you were breathing and not bleeding and looked through your house to see if anyone else was there and there wasn't. I called the police and the ambulance and Deputy Ling was the first to arrive and not even a minute later the ambulance came and took you to the hospital. You had 4 healers working on you for three hours. They said you had a light concussion but not much beyond that." Sokka tried to explain.

They were silent for a few minutes as neither didn't know what else to say.

"So...you don't know what brought you to my house...?" Toph asked, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"I like to think of it as more of a warriors intuition, but..." Sokka trailed off not really wanting to say it out loud again.

"But what?" Toph asked.

"I've had warriors intuition before, the feeling that brought me to you last night was similar but amplified 100 times over. I...I can't explain it. I'm sorry about your door, I'll get you another one." Sokka said as he leaned his elbows onto his knees.

"I'm not really worried about the door." Toph said quietly.

"What happened to you anyway? Were you actually attacked?"

"I just had a bad nightmare and over reacted." Toph said, hoping he would drop the subject.

"Want to talk about it?"

"_**NO**_." Toph boomed. Sokka's eyebrows shot up to his hair line as he found that he just struck a nerve.

"Ok then, we won't. Um...do you know when they are going to let you go home?"

"Soon, hopefully, the nurse seemed to think they would let me go within the hour and that was half an hour ago."

"Could I take you home? Make sure you get there safe and that your house doesn't fall down on you and all?" Sokka asked, his voice light despite the gravity of the situation.

"Sure." Toph couldn't believe she agreed, maybe it was more serious concussion then the healers thought.

"By the way Deputy Ling brought a set of clothes for you so you don't have to go home in your pajamas." Sokka said as he got up and brought them to her setting them in her hands on her lap. Toph tried to hide her blush as his hands skimmed hers. They were warm, his fingertips callused enough to just barely scratch and send goosebumps up her arms.

"I'll just...um...get out of here and let you get dressed, the nurse should come and discharge you soon." Sokka said awkwardly and left the room and was ever so glad Toph couldn't see the deep blush his cheeks were adorning.

_Author's Notes-_

_Major Thank You to PurpleFluffyCloudOfDoom, Alaburn, feliipsun, P. Rose 205, Da'Ink, Fruipit, Tokka who Invent Beastly Ravens, caroline. brenholdt, , ArtIsAnExplosion27, MarCo03, emcateer90, bennica lover 45 and MrJanzz for all the faves, follows and especially the reviews and encouragement. You guys are rock stars with hearts of gold. _

_So I'm just going to go and hide now so you don't skin me alive for this chapter. As a warning, it's only going to get worse. I tried to throw just a touch of fluff at the end to balance out the creepy. Again sorry for the language but, it was necessary. _

_Any guesses as to what 'the storm' could mean? I'm honestly interested to hear what you all have to say about it. And Sokka shirtless...mmm...almost as yummy as Zuko shirtless but we'll get to that later. Damn, let out another spoiler. Oops. _

_Anyway, moving on, thank you all for reading, hope you enjoy this wild and crazy ride. And as always all faves, follows, reviews, constructive criticism and suggestions are welcome with open arms. _


	6. Temptation

Who Are You?

Chapter 5

"Shit Sokka! What did you do to my door?" Toph asked as they reached her house and she ran to the door, knelt down and touched the three pieces the door now laid in. She earth-bended the pieces back together and put the door back on it's hinges. She went inside and Sokka followed, he watched in amazement as the house seemed to fix itself as she walked through. He looked around and noted the large display case in the living room that was overflowing with trophies and championship belts.

"Wow." Sokka said out loud.

"What?" Toph asked as she came back through with a ball of dust she had collected and pushed it outside a window.

"Your trophies." Sokka answered.

"Oh, thanks, yeah, those were good times. So, listen, I'm home, I'm safe and sound, obviously the house isn't going to fall in on me so you should go home and get some sleep, we have council meetings tomorrow, plus the Fire Lord is coming and I hear he is bringing his sister for reasons only Agni knows so I'll see you then ok? Thanks meat head." Toph said as she punched him in the arm and shooed him out the door.

"Oh..uh..ok." Sokka said as she practically shoved him out the door.

Across the street a girl groaned as she palmed her forehead.

"_Damn it Toph, let him in, you're running out of time. I really didn't want to do this.." _She said as she watched Sokka with arctic blue eyes. He furrowed his brows as he looked back at the door before shrugging and walked down the front path and down the street. Once he was out of sight the girl blinked, the arctic blue gone, leaving her usual brown eyes behind.

"Huh, that was weird..." She murmured to herself as she went on with her day.

That night the usual dream took on a much darker and sinister feel. It was no longer day_, _but it was dusk, almost night. The temperature had plummeted and Sokka could only barely see about 20 paces around him in any direction. Sokka called out to Toph who didn't answer. He started to panic and looked for her, but it was hard, the swamp had grown and was a thick, tangled mess, he took out his katana and tried to make a path but as he swung, the tip of his blade caught Toph in the abdomen. She cried out and backed away.

"Toph! Toph, I am so sorry I didn't see you there, I swear!" Sokka said as he sheathed his sword and knelt in front of her trying to see the wound he inflicted. He managed to pry her hands away to see was worse then he thought.

"Toph I am so so sorry." Sokka repeated, trying to keep the wound from bleeding out.

"Who are you?" Toph asked as if meeting him for the first time all over again.

"Toph, it's me Sokka, your warrior..." Sokka tried to explain.

"Warrior? No, I don't have a warrior, not anymore anyway, he died. If I did have a warrior he would have protected me, not hurt me." Toph replied as she tried to back away from him.

"No! I didn't mean to hurt you, I was clearing away the tangled brush to get to you, this was an accident." Sokka tried to explain.

"It wasn't an accident. I know you, you killed my warrior. You killed him!" Toph screamed as she earth-bended him away from her. She got up and ran despite her injury, the brush clearing away from her as suddenly the swamp ended and she was running toward a cliff.

"Toph! Don't! You'll fall!" Sokka said as he chased after her.

"Get away from me!" Toph screamed as she reached the edge and jumped. But this time, no strong arms caught her as she plummeted to the frigid cold waters beneath her. Sokka didn't hesitate in jumping in after her. She was drowning, he had to dive to get her and drag her up to the surface, her dress, the same ridiculous dress she always wore was dragging her down, he untied it and took it off of her. She was just in her undergarments now and he pulled her into him, he was a strong swimmer, he able to tread water well enough so that she didn't have to try, all she had to do was hold on.

"Toph, it's me, _your Sokka_, I've always been here, I am never leaving you." He tried to tell her in the darkness.

"_**Sokka? My Sokka?**_ " Toph asked.

"Yes, _**your Sokka**_." He confirmed. Toph released a breath of relief and wrapped herself around him.

He reached down to feel the wound, only to find it healed. It was his turn to breathe out a sigh of relief. They both closed their eyes and held on to the other.

"_Finally." _A spirit woman whispered as she watched the scene unfold from her heavenly perch. She waved her hand and dream scape changed, the couple found themselves on a bed, still tangled in each other, but instead of freezing cold water, warm and soft flannel sheets took their place surrounding them as heavy blankets were layered on top of them. Sokka only vaguely recognized his surroundings but couldn't place them. But at the moment he was more focused on the sleeping form on his chest. Her hair was down and cascaded over the tops of the sheets and the blankets. He noticed his arms were wrapped protectively, if not possessively around her, he moved an arm to discover they were skin to skin. Suddenly his skin was hyper aware of hers, his heart rate shot up a few notches as he moved to brush back her bangs from her face to make sure it was her.

His heart didn't know if it should beat faster or slower at finding it was Toph resting peacefully on his chest. He kissed the top of her head and leaned his head back into the feather pillow.

Only seconds later Sokka woke up cold and alone in his room. It was his turn to string curses together like he was fresh out of the navy.

He looked at the clock and jumped out of bed, hurrying to get ready because he apparently slept in.

He got there barely in time. He took his seat and looked in Toph's direction, her face looked like a cross between serene and indifference. A flash of red caught his attention and he looked at the other side of the council chamber, there sat Fire Lord Zuko and a woman that whom he assumed was his sister, they had some family resemblance.

"Son, you really must have a death wish." Layla whispered to him. He turned his attention to the older woman with a raised eyebrow.

"That's Princess Azula, Fire Lord Zuko's little sister. Do your best not to catch her eye, she's a power tripping man eater if I've ever seen one. She takes pleasure in causing chaos where she finds peace." Layla whispered before turning her attention back to the speaker. Sokka nodded and looked back over at the Princess who just happened to look up and catch his gaze. She gave him a small predatory smile before looking him up and down like a predator sizing up it's prey. Her smile widened and Sokka was forced to look away as Toph was called on to speak. Sokka could feel Azula's eyes on him still, he could also feel a blush creeping up the back of his neck as he felt she was about to bore holes into the back of his head. He made it a point not to look at her again after that. He knew of girls like her, they were all fire. And he was not one that liked getting burned.

Afterwords he watches Toph go up to the Fire Lord and punch him in the arm with a laugh while he rolled his eyes and shook his head. Then he noticed the Princess nod and point in his direction and he immediately looked down and tried to pretend he wasn't just watching them. He then saw Toph's feet in his peripheral vision.

"Hey meat head, come with me, there are people who want to meet you." Toph said, although she didn't seem thrilled about it. He followed obediently although now he really wished he had listened to Layla's advice, she may have been wrong with Toph but she may have been right about Azula. He puts on a practiced stoic demeanor as Toph leads him up to the Fire Lord and the Princess.

After introductions Zuko discovers that both Sokka and himself have a passion of swordsmanship. Zuko invites Sokka over to practice and spar for the afternoon and dinner for the evening.

Sokka's saving grace is Toph also being invited.

Sokka arrives early at the estate the Fire Lord keeps in Republic City and is ushered to a training courtyard where he see's Zuko going through his fire-bending forms. Sokka sits next to Toph and watches Zuko with appreciation. Soon Azula sits next to him wearing the most revealing 'work out' outfit he had ever seen in his life. Sokka immediately knew what Azula was up to. She wanted a new toy, well sorry cupcake, this toy already had an owner, if that owner would actually claim him in something other then a dream.

Toph can feel Sokka's heart rate escalate and clenches her jaw.

'Azula. Of course Azula, the man eating, power tripping, evil, conniving whore is up to her old tricks and games.' Toph grumbles in her head. Toph may not be able to physically see with her eyes but she knew damn well what was going on. She prayed that despite her nick name for Sokka, that he did in fact have a brain in his head and would recognize what was going on.

Then an odd thought crossed her mind. If anyone was going to seduce Sokka, it would be her.

'Wait, am I jealous?'

_Yes, yes you are. Because if anyone is going to get his heart beating that fast and get him all hot and bothered, it is going to be you. Why do you think I've been pushing you so hard? You may call him 'your warrior' in your dreams but you are going to have to be his savior in real life._

'How? Azula is supposed to be this awesome seductress, Agni knows how many men she's done this to.'

_Help is on the way but you have to really open up and give him something to fend off her advances with. If he knows he belongs to you, he won't give himself to another. So see? Told you I'm not evil. _

'Ok, fine.'

"So, Sokka, how is Republic City treating you?" Azula asks sweetly.

"Just fine thank you." Sokka answers with a guarded smile, choosing to keep his eyes on her brother because he couldn't trust his eyes to stay on her face at the moment.

Thankfully Zuko finishes his set and notices Sokka sitting on the stone bench between Toph and his sister looking uncomfortable. Zuko snickered at Sokka's predicament and decided to end his agony.

"Sokka! You ready?" Zuko called out as he wiped his forehead with a towel and grabbed his dueling swords. Sokka was ever so grateful for the escape. He took off his outer robes revealing a thin tank top that left little to the imagination, although now he wished he had chosen his clothes differently.

Toph could feel Azula practically drooling on herself and rolled her eyes.

"You act like you've never seen a guy in a tank top before." Toph teased.

"Well it's a shame you can't see what I see. Sokka is practically a work of art. Do you know if he's a bender?" Azula asked as she continued to undress him with her eyes.

"He is not."

"Oh such a shame, but he's an Ambassador right? Ambassador's are always so fun, so eager to please." Azula cooed as she watched Sokka intently.

"Actually, he was chosen to be an Ambassador, so up until he came here he was a warrior. Thus the kill shot he's about to give your brother." Toph said just as Sokka delivered his move.

"How did you know that?" Azula asked as she watched it unfold.

"You underestimate my abilities Azula. But I know what you're trying to do." Toph said, her tone taking on an edge that she usually only used on criminals.

"I doubt it." Azula quipped.

"You're trying to seduce him, like you do every other man you meet, whether it's for more power or money or in your case the thrill. But it's not going to work on him. He's different. Here's a good example, see how your brother is purposely trying to trick him into making an 'easy' kill shot? Even though we both know it's a trick, watch how Sokka sees through it..." Toph said as she nodded toward the men who were currently in one of the more intense sparing sessions they usually engaged in. Azula watched as Sokka ignored the temptation and instead found the real opportunity.

"Yes but I have yet to meet a man who can resist me, so it doesn't matter if he's different, it doesn't even matter if he's married or otherwise, he's still a man and all men have needs and _**you**_ underestimate _**my abilities**_ at fulfilling any desire a man can have Toph." Azula taunted as she stood and walked closer to the sparing match to get a better look at her new target.

'Shit!' Toph inwardly cursed as she got up and did the same. Toph sharply inhaled as Sokka placed his feet wrong and left himself open, Zuko didn't hesitate and won the match.

"You know Snoozles, if you had placed your feet differently, you would have won, actually you could have won half way through if you had dropped your shoulder on the third stance and swung upwards. See, watch." Toph said as she walked up to Sokka and moved him back into the stance and pushed his shoulder down.

"Now swing up." She urged. He did as he was told and was surprised at how fluid and natural it felt.

"Thank you Sifu Toph." Sokka replied, Toph smiled as she could feel how he was impressed with the constructive criticism.

"You're welcome." She said with a light blush. Sokka just watched her for a moment before Azula interrupted their little moment of peace.

"Yes but what you fail to perceive Toph, is Zuko could have easily disarmed him, leaving him vulnerable, the death to any 'warrior'." Azula argued as she walked up to Sokka, moving him into a different stance all together, her fingertips never leaving his skin as she went from one part of his body to the other.

'Oh you're evil' Sokka and Toph thought at the same time.

"Now swing down." Azula commanded. Sokka didn't hide his look of disapproval as he did so.

"I believe I prefer Toph's stance, it feels a lot more natural and fluid. No offense." Sokka added as a sarcastic consolation prize. He watched as Toph beamed and Azula narrowed her eyes.

"I think it's time for a break." Zuko added with a smug expression directed at Azula. Zuko himself hated this 'game' Azula played. In fact he didn't know why his sister had even want to come along. But once at the council, Zuko understood perfectly, she was on the prowl again, didn't she have enough 'prey' at home? But Zuko was impressed to see Sokka not give in, not yet anyway. But he also knew Azula was not one to give up or defeat. She could start giant fire storms when even only mildly provoked.

"Sounds good to me Sparky." Toph replied and begin to walk towards Zuko. Azula had somehow gotten a hold of Sokka's outer robes and held them out to Sokka.

"As much as it pains me to see you put more clothes on that magnificent body of yours..." Azula cooed. Sokka couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head at her attempt.

"Learn to live in pain then Princess." Sokka quipped as he hastily put them back on and tried to walk away from her and catch up with Toph. But Azula had other ideas. She grabbed his arm and flung him to a nearby wall and pinned him to it with her own body.

"Why do you have to be like that pet? I know you want me, I know you are an honorable and sensible warrior but even you know we all have our limits. So why don't you just give in already? Why don't you show me how much strength and stamina you really have?" Azula purred as she dug her fingertips into his robes and belt, trying to tug them off subtly. Sokka gulped as he could feel the heat roll off of her body and seep into his. Her eyes were lidded, a mischievous smile on her painted lips as her body was pressed so firmly to his own he was having a hard time thinking clearly. Azula's smile grew as she saw him think about it, she was wearing him down. He took a shaky breath and then another as he reached up and firmly grabbed her wrists.

_Author's Notes-_

_So major thanks to Alaburn, P. Rose205, PurpleFluffCloudOfDoom, cliniquehappy, KrRcksMySx, ArtisAnExplosion 27, Thnderthighs, Da'Ink, TokkawhoinventBeastlyRaves, carolin. brenholdt, feliipsun, MarCo03, Fruipit, emcateer90, bennica lover45, Mr Janzz, Neverending Daydreams, LaduleFreak and Labandidaciega for all the faves, follows and especially the reviews, suggestions and encouragement! You are all rock stars. _

_Temptation is a bitch. So will Sokka be able to resist? (gasp) *ow, ow OW, Hey! Stop hitting*_

_Again sorry for any OOCness and the creep factor. But I mean come on, you don't get (as I imagined) shirtless Zuko without Azula causing trouble. And I know she seems 'flat' right now but she'll get some depth later. I promise. I am sorry for the cliffy (not really, I delight in your anguish, lol jk) but Sokka IS A GUY so..._


	7. Consorting With Mortals

Who Are You?

Chapter 6

"How about no." Sokka said firmly as he removed her hands from him and pushed her back. Then he jogged to catch up to Toph.

"You ok there?" Toph asked , trying to keep her voice steady, as she felt him catch up to her, trying to wipe the stray tear from her eye without him noticing. But it only gets worse as she notices he wreaks of that heavy, spicy perfume Azula wears that burns her nose.

"Are you ok?" Sokka asks noting Toph's duress. Toph clenches her jaw. If she had listened to that spirit she would have dragged Sokka with her instead of leaving him on his own with _**her**_, she knew better.

"You reek of Azula." Toph pointed out.

"Oh..." Sokka said, his blush deepening.

Toph couldn't bring herself to say anything else as her brain started torturing her with the thought of Sokka pressed up against her, probably pinned her to the wall, that's probably how he got her smell all over him. The more she thought about it, the more pissed off she got.

"You're mad at me aren't you?" Sokka asked.

"Of course I am!" Toph roared as she stopped in her tracks.

"Why?!" Sokka shot back.

"Because you're stupid! Azula preys on guys like you. She will offer you the world if it means she can get to you in return. And just when you think everything is perfect she pulls the floor out from under you and leaves you broken. I've seen it happen to too many friends of mine." Toph explained.

"Toph...I'm not stupid. I know what Azula is up to. That's why when she tried to come on to me I pushed her away. Girls like her are all fire and I have no intention of getting burned. So since I haven't done anything wrong you need to stop being mad at me for shit I haven't done." Sokka said as he resumed walking to the tea room where Zuko and a slightly more dressed Azula were waiting on them. Toph followed feeling her faith in her warrior renewed and only slightly embarrassed she assumed the worst.

"I was wondering when you two would show up." Azula commented, noting that Sokka looked irritated.

'And that's my in.' Azula thought to herself, her confidence returning. That's why he pushed her away, he must have a thing for the blind girl.

'Oh he makes it almost too easy, almost.' Azula thought as she toned down her aggressive approach in favor of one of her more sneaky tactics.

Sokka was relieved that Azula didn't push the issue further, she seemed to take his rejection in stride. She didn't treat him any differently then the way she treated Toph or her brother. If anything she was very pleasant to be around.

The dream that night was a nightmare. Toph and Sokka started the dream holding each other which normally would have been divine, but Sokka heard something and let go to turn toward the noise. When he turned back to Toph she was 40 paces away again, but just as he moved to get to her again a ball of fire appeared between them, it caught the ground on fire, creating a river of fire between them. He tried to yell for her but the roar of the fire was too loud.

Both Sokka and Toph woke up screaming, feeling like their bodies were on fire.

Sokka was roused from his fitful sleep by a persistent knocking on his door.

"Toph..." Sokka gasped as he sat up, he quickly threw on an outer garment, not even bothering to tie his hair back. He could almost smell the wildflower shampoo through the door and a feeling of relief washed over him.

"Good morning." Azula greeted once Sokka opened the door. Sokka's heart sank.

"Good morning Princess Azula." Sokka greeted with barely contained disappointment. But at least she was wearing her more formal attire this time that only left her face and hands visible.

"Can I come in?" She asked sweetly.

"Of course." Sokka begrudgingly agreed.

"I promise I won't stay long, I just came to apologize for my behavior yesterday..." Azula said as she crossed the threshold.

"I really don't know what came over me and I sincerely apologize for putting you in such a compromising position, I don't even know if you're married or attached or other wise and of course an honorable gentlemen like yourself would refuse my offer and I can not begin to tell you how embarrassed I am that I acted so foolishly. It was completely and utterly inappropriate and out of line and I promise it will never happen again." Azula said with a tone most would believe was sincerity.

"Thank you, apology accepted." Sokka replied, completely surprised by her change in demeanor.

"Thank you, now if I could make it up to you. My expertise at trade agreements and most politics hardly has an equal. I understand you are new to the political arena and if I could offer my services to help you find your political foothold I would feel a lot better about this whole blunder. Of course my offer comes with no strings attached and absolutely no obligation to agree to any suggestions I may make." Azula offers, taking on the look of complete innocence.

"Let me think about it." Sokka replied.

"Fair enough, thank you for your time Ambassador Sokka." Azula replied respectfully as she let herself out.

"What the hell?" Sokka asked once she was gone.

"_So how did it go?_" Azula's assistant asked as she got in the carriage.

"He said he'll think about it." Azula answered.

"_I'm sure he will agree once he comes to his senses_." He assured her, his unusual violet eyes glowing with unseen power.

"Well at least my target is handsome this time." Azula added with a mischievous smirk.

"_Of course, and I do offer my apologies for your embarrassment, I was sure he would have fallen for it. Especially since the blind one keeps pushing him away, she is stubborn and unwilling which will ultimately lead to their doom. That is why you Azula will gain the victory in this case._" He explained with knowing smile and Azula couldn't help but be pleased with his prediction.

"_Did the wildflower perfume help?_" He asked as an afterthought.

"Yes, he flung the door open so fast it was hard not to laugh. Excellent suggestion by the way." Azula offered in praise.

"_Kaori has always preferred to use smells. She makes it so easy to undermine her strategy it's almost laughable_." He said with a chuckle.

"But now the fun really starts, granted it will take a lot of work but if the pay off is as great as you say it is, it will be well worth it." Azula said after a moment of silence.

"_It will indeed, precious." _He answered with a wink and a smoldering glance.

"So am I to assume we can resume our previous activity once we arrive back at the estate?" Azula asked, her excitement clearly evident.

"_Of course my pet." _He cooed as they arrived back to their temporary home. He helped her out of the carriage then followed her closely back to her quarters where they were barely inside the door before their lips were imparting searing kisses onto the other.

A maid watches the interaction with arctic blue eyes and conceals herself in the closest empty room and weeps.

"_Of course Takashi would be behind this. Three lifetimes pass and he still finds a way to torment me. And 'consorting' with mortals is an all new low."_ She whispers bitterly as she wipes her eyes and blows out a shaky breath. The maid blinks, the arctic blue is gone and she is confused as to why she would be in the library.

Meanwhile

Sokka is sitting at his desk going through his mail when he sees an invitation for the Republic City Ball in a month.

"Toph." Sokka says out loud as he thinks of who he would bring if he went. Then he hears his door knock.

"Good morning Toph." He greets, relieved to see her and not someone else.

"Good morning Snoozles." Toph says with a genuine smile as she walks in. But she stops and sniffs the air once she's inside.

"Have you had company already this morning?" Toph asks, not recognizing the perfume.

"Yes, Princes Azula decided to pay me a surprise visit this morning to apologize for her behavior yesterday." Sokka explains. Toph furrows her brow as she moves her bangs from her face, knowing her sightless eyes didn't bother Sokka.

"That's highly unusual for her. Azula _**never**_ apologizes, for anything." Toph states as she tries to figure out what was really going on.

"Oh and get this, she offered to help me 'find my political foothold', it was really bizarre, it was like talking to a completely different person then yesterday." Sokka added as he made his way to his kitchen to get Toph some tea as she follows him.

"Yeah, that's beyond bizarre, that's entering the realm of really weird and creepy. Azula never does anything 'nice' or 'out of the goodness of her heart' because she doesn't have one. It sounds like a trap or a trick or something." Toph said as she jumped up to sit on his counter and took the tea from him as he simply leaned on the counter next to her.

"Mm, you wouldn't happen to have fire cakes to go with this would you?" Toph asked with a grin. Sokka laughed and moved off the counter to fetch the box of said pastries from across the kitchen.

"You could smell them couldn't you..." Sokka said as handed her the box.

"Maybe." Toph replies as she begins to gorge herself.

"A woman with appetite, I like it." Sokka compliments as he takes one and eats it himself.

"You better believe it buddy." Toph says with her mouth full. Sokka can't help but laugh at how funny and utterly adorable she looks with her cheeks puffed out like that as he refills her tea.

"So I got an invitation to the Republic City Ball, want to go with me?" He asks as he watches with further amusement as Toph sprays her tea as she tries to choke on it.

"What?" Toph croaks as she wipes her mouth with her sleeve.

"You want _**me**_ to go with you?" Toph asks.

"Why not? I think it would be fun." Sokka replies.

"Oh, sure. Granted that means I would have to confront my arch nemesis- a dress, but there are worse things. That gig is in what, two weeks?" Toph asks.

"Yup." Sokka confirms as he finishes his tea.

"It's a date." Toph replies with a grin.

* * *

_Author's notes- _

_Big thanks to Alaburn, Rooivalk253, Thnderthighs, ArtIsAnExplosion27, P. Rose205, PurpleFluffyCloudOfDoom, feliipsun, Da'Ink, Fruipit, Tokka who invent BeastlyRavens, caroline. brenholdt, MarCo03, emcateer90, bennica lover45, Mr Janzz, Neverending Daydreams, LadyleFreak, Labandidaciega, cliniquehappy, KrRcksMySx, reinachrist and Zonna for all the faves, follows and especially the reviews and encouragement. I love you all. _

_Next- Again, yeah, OOC, it's a constant battle that I fight, I'm working on it. But Sokka said 'no' didn't he? This time..._

_I know it's a short chapter but it was full of surprises right? I got asked on DA if the spirit with arctic blue eyes was Yue...no. Because it's AU and this is Tokka, so no Yue. (nothing against her, but this story is complicated enough as it is.) So these are OC spirits. Kaori (means perfume in Japanese) who is distinguished by her arctic blue eyes and Takashi,( I will let those who give a damn look into what his name means.) with his purple/ violet eyes. There is A LOT going on between these two and...that's all I'm disclosing at this time ;) _

_Also I should admit that the music I listen to influences what I write, so you can blame this chapter and the ones that follow on Chris Brown "Don't Judge Me" and um...take some the lyrics literally. That's the spoiler. (no that's not me laughing evilly again) _

_So thank you so much for reading and as always, all faves, follows, reviews, constructive criticism and suggestions are welcome with open arms. _


	8. Dinner and a Show

Who Are You?

Chapter 7

At the conclusion of their most recent council meeting, Azula walks up to Sokka in his seat next to Layla as they prepare to leave.

"Ambassador Sokka, have you had a chance to think about my offer?" Azula asks.

At this, Layla looks at Sokka with a raised eyebrow. He returns her questioning gaze with a pleading look of desperation.

"What's the offer?" The older woman demands, her protective, motherly instincts kicking in.

"I offered to go over his trade deals to see if they could be improved through renegotiation as well as to help him establish his political foothold," Azula answers smoothly.

"Why? How would you benefit from this collaboration?" Layla inquires warily.

"It's a peace offering for offending the Ambassador's honor. Something that I still deeply regret," Azula rejoins, doing a fantastic job of actually looking ashamed, complete with down cast eyes and a deep blush.

"Fair enough. How about you go over the trade deals the Ambassador already has in place? You can make suggestions on how to improve them, then the Ambassador will go over your suggestions and you can move on from there," Layla suggests.

"Already done," Azula replies with a smug smile as she produces five scrolls from behind her and places them in a neat stack in front of Sokka.

"I do hope they manage to attain your satisfaction, Ambassador Sokka. Please let me know what you think as soon as you are able," Azula articulates with a bow as she leaves them.

"Son, I don't know what she did to offend you and I don't want to know, but that was quite the gesture." Layla states as she sits back and observes Sokka eying the scrolls as if he's afraid to touch them.

"I understand your hesitation; she's a powerful if not dangerous political figure, but I've dealt with her before. If you would like, I could take a look at the scrolls as well. It couldn't hurt to have an objective set of eyes look them over."

"I would appreciate that, thank you." He sighs in relief as he gestures to the scrolls.

"Come on; let's go look at these somewhere more private." She offers, scooping them up as Sokka follows her to her office.

Two hours later.

"Sokka, I don't know what to tell you. I can't see any flaws in the wording, phrasing, or otherwise in any of these. They are practically perfect. They seem fair, which is pretty hard to believe, considering who drew them up. But if you hold these to the letter, Hotaru can do nothing but benefit. It's your call to make, Sokka. What are your 'warrior intuitions' telling you?" Layla asks as she examines the scrolls for the fifth time.

"That I'm a fool if I say no. But I can't help but wonder what else Azula has up her sleeve." He responds as he leans back in his chair to run a hand over his tired face.

"I would agree with that sentiment. So here's my advice: agree to these five recommendations as your 'forgiveness' or whatever you want to call it. But I wouldn't accept any more, not unless you have at least me and two other sets of eyes to look at it. I just hope she doesn't make you an offer you can't refuse..." Layla deliberates as she gets up to leave.

"What do you mean?" Sokka probes as he gathers everything together.

"Azula has been known to offer 'the deal of a lifetime', but with easily broken parameters. And when said parameters are broken, she can basically enslave not only you, but your people as well. She is known for fighting dirty, not only politically, but also in every other aspect of her life. So just be careful. See you next council meeting." Layla offers as she exits the room.

"Thank you, Layla." He calls out to her retreating form.

"You're welcome, Son." She replies over her shoulder.

150 Years ago.

A man struts into a perfume and medicine shop in a small sea side town.

"Hello Kaori. May I say how stunning you look today? And your perfume is absolutely intoxicating. Is it a new blend?" He asks as he saunters over to where she's sorting bottles on a shelf.

"Hello, Takashi. It is a new blend, but it's not meant to be intoxicating, it's meant to be uplifting." Kaori responds evenly as she moves around her little shop and effectively away from him.

"It certainly lifts something." He implies suggestively.

Kaori only rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she sits on a stool behind the counter. "Aren't there any other people you could be annoying right now other than me?"

"No one as pretty as you." He remarks, leaning on the counter.

"See, here's the thing. I know you're lying. I know that I am one of the last remaining women around here to not fall for your charms. You think you are Agni's gift to women, and while I'm sure some of the women you've fooled for a time probably thought that too; I, however, am not blinded by your 'sparkling exterior'. Because you have absolutely nothing I want. Sure you're handsome, but looks fade. Sure you're rich, but I've seen too many men lose their money to bad habits, of which you have too many. You have wandering eyes, and I would need a man who only has eyes for me for the rest of his life. And frankly, that just isn't you. So unless you would like to make a purchase, you can be on your way." Kaori informs him bluntly.

"Why do you have to be so mean?" Takashi beseeches, undeterred by her rejection.

"Do you really need to ask that? Or does your memory really not work that well?" Kaori asks as she senses the tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

Present

"So do you have any idea what you are going to wear?" Sokka asks as he and Toph have dinner on the counter in his kitchen.

"Eh, I could show up at the ball naked, see how that goes over." Toph remarks with a grin, then laughs as Sokka chokes on the food in his mouth and sprays it all over the room.

"You are way too easy to tease, Snoozles," Toph adds, patting his back roughly as he continues to cough.

"Apparently..." Sokka retorts as he wipes his mouth and tries to clean up the mess he just made. "But seriously."

"_**Somehow**_ my mother found out that I'm going and sent me a dress. I'm told it's gold and green, whatever that means. Since I'm blind it doesn't matter what 'color' it is, like it makes a fucking difference to me. As long as I don't look like an idiot, I'll be fine. But what I do care about is whether it's comfortable or not." Toph answers with a shrug as she pops another whole pot-sticker in her mouth.

"Well, have you handled the dress yet?" Sokka inquires as he sweeps up the floor.

"Not yet, but I'm told it's silk so at least it will be soft. I'm just wondering if it will allow me to wear my armor underneath..." She muses aloud.

"Is your armor really that comfortable that you _**like **_wearing it all the time, or is it the comfort of simply having it on that appeals to you?" Sokka asks thoughtfully as he notices that for once, she isn't wearing said armor in his presence. It's actually neatly placed in the corner of the kitchen. But all he gets as a response to his inquiry is a shrug as she stuffs her mouth so she can't really answer him. He's been around her enough now to recognize this as one of her tactics to evade a question that she doesn't want to answer. Sokka finishes sweeping and returns to his seat on the counter next to her.

"So why do you have your hair down?" She questions him after a moment of silence.

"I didn't think you could tell." He retaliates with a grin.

"You keep running your hands through it to keep it out of your face. That kind of movement is really easy to detect." She explains.

"Didn't feel like putting it up, I suppose. Since this is supposed to be a comfortable, casual dinner, I don't have my hair up, just like you don't have on your armor."

"You also left your katana in the same corner with my armor," Toph notes.

"You're right. So that means to be fair, you should let your hair down too." Sokka counters as he reaches out and removes the pins from her hair, causing it to tumble out if its arrangement.

"No!" Toph squeals as she puts her hands up to her head in a vain attempt to keep it from cascading further down her back.

"Why not?" Sokka asks in bewilderment as he watches her reaction.

"Because it's just weird, that's why."She snaps, shooting a glare in his general direction.

"No it's not; you just think it is because you rarely have it down. But you should, actually. It looks great like that." Sokka argues as he tries to focus on his food rather than on the gorgeous woman sitting only a few measly inches from him.

"Really?" Toph murmurs in a voice even she doesn't recognize. It's soft and shy, so unlike her usual persona.

Sokka notices the change and realizes that he has somehow gotten passed another barrier with her.

"Really. Since you keep it in that weird bee-wasp bun thing all the time, it has a lot of curl to it. It's really quite...beautiful." The tone of his voice is smooth and equally soft. He notices the light blush rising in her cheeks, but decides not to ruin the moment by saying anything else about it. "So Lu Tein's make great roast duck..." He mentions, changing the subject. He sees Toph breathe a sigh of relief as she nods.

"They sure do. I think they use honey or some kind of syrup in the glaze. It's one of my favorites." She rejoins, trying not to show how much his praise is affecting her.

"Agreed," Sokka responds as he stuffs his mouth.

"So what are you going to do about Azula's offers?" Toph ventures, further changing the subject.

"Can we not talk about anything that has to do with her? She just...there is something about her that leaves me feeling... unsettled." Sokka admits as he feels himself losing his appetite.

"Fine by me." She smiles at the clear disgust and derision in his voice as he refers to Azula.

"Sake?" Sokka offers as he jumps off the counter.

"Hell yes." Toph agrees with a smile.

Sokka had noticed that she has many different kinds of smiles and has tried to catalog them. The one she is currently wearing is the first time he's seen it. It's wide and bright with a hint of mischievousness. He decides he really likes this one. He grabs two fist sized bottles and hands one to Toph, who opens it and takes a swig.

"Wow, this really good." She remarks as her fingertips explore the bottle, trying to find a maker's mark.

"Here..." Sokka mutters softly as he gently grasps her hand and places her fingers on the mark and seal.

Toph blushes again and nods. "I haven't heard of this one before," she comments as she 'reads' the mark.

"Me neither, but the shop keeper kept on insisting that I buy them and even gave me a deal, so it's not like I could really say no." Sokka explains as he takes a swig as well. "I am definitely going back to buy more now..." he adds as he starts to notice the effects and begins to feel much more relaxed.

One hour later

"So then the idiot tried to tell me that he _had no idea_ that that was illegal! I mean can you imagine?"

Toph roars with laughter as she sits on the floor next to Sokka in the kitchen. Her hair is down and mussed as she reclines there in just her tank top and pants, her over shirt long since discarded, with Sokka in an equal state of undress. The two had been swapping stories of stupid and funny situations they had found themselves in over the years.

"So you want to hear something really creepy?" Toph starts as she leans toward him slightly. The Sake had long since helped her break down her walls that she has so carefully constructed.

"Sure." Sokka consents eagerly.

"The first time we met, I felt like I had met you before."

"How is that creepy? I felt the same way." Sokka reassures her with a light chuckle.

"The creepy part is _**how**_," she specifies.

"I'm listening..."

"Your smell. You smell like wild mountains and evergreen forests combined with the sea and just...the way a real man should smell. And that would be fine on its own, but the first time I smelled it, it was in a dream." Toph elucidates.

"A dream?" Sokka echoes as he leans forward with keen interest.

"Yeah, I've been having this same dream for a while. It starts out with me in this ridiculous dress and I'm walking through a swamp...Sokka? Are you ok? Your heart rate just spiked," Toph observes as she lays her palms on the floor to double check.

Sokka feels the alcohol leave his system as a realization hits him full force. He tries to steady his breathing and keep his heart from seizing.

"In your dream, are you being chased by a man?" Sokka asks carefully.

"Y-yes," Toph stammers in answer, sensing a change as she begins to clam up again.

But Sokka knew that if he didn't say this now, he may not get another opportunity. He steels his resolve and turns slightly so he can face her. He puts a hand on her shoulder and takes a deep breath before speaking in a soft, yet deliberate tone, "When he catches you, you ask him who he is. He tries to answer, but you don't accept any of the answers until he says, 'I'm yours.'"

It's Toph's turn to have her heart race as her own realization hits her like she's being slammed by a metal wall.

"And right before you disappear, you say 'Come and find me, my Warrior'..." Sokka concludes.

"How do you know all this?" Toph whispers.

"Because, like _I've_ told you so many times that I have lost count, I will always find you Toph. I will always be here for you. I'm never leaving," he repeats like a mantra.

Toph can't believe her ears. This was actually happening; her dream was finally coming true. Her warrior has been here this whole time, just _waiting_ for her to get her act together. She shifts and inclines towards him. She reaches out and finds his face, tracing those handsome features the way she had done so many times before. It was him. He had found her. _**He**_, _her Sokka_ had found her.

"How did you do it? How did you find me?" She asks, her voice barely above a whisper as she scoots closer, her hands never leaving his face.

"I followed my nose, my heart, and my feet Toph," He answers as she scoots so close that she is practically in his lap, not that he would ever in a million years complain about that. He reaches out and puts his hands tentatively on her waist, pulling her forward and reveling in the sparks traveling over his body as hers comes closer.

"So who are you?" Toph reiterates with a grin.

"I'm yours," Sokka whispers as he finally makes his dreams a reality by claiming her lips with his for the first time in the waking world.

If Sokka gave a damn about anything else at that moment, he would have noticed the ghostly image staring at them from a small mirror, silently cheering, her arctic blue eyes shining with pride.

'_Go Sokka!'_ She cheers.

'_Don't look so pleased with yourself,' _Takashi counters, his ghostly image joining her own.

'_Why do you have to ruin everything for me Takashi? Why can't you just be content to bed every mortal woman you so desire?" _Kaori demands, her hands on her spectral hips.

'_Because the only woman, mortal, or otherwise that I have ever desired, hates my guts,'_ He replies.

_Gee, I wonder why that is?'_ She quips sarcastically. '_Because like I've said, __**you**__ have wandering eyes, and any man, mortal, or otherwise, as you put it, can only have eyes for me. I require exclusive devotion and a complete heart. Something that you have proven you can't do. Even now I watch you bed that Azula girl, and I can hear her moan and scream your name from here. It's disgusting,' _Kaori adds.

'_Do you still get jealous? Do you still wish it was you beneath me? Helping you lose all control as you reach the highest plane possible?' _Takashi taunts.

'_No, because it means nothing to __**you**_. _All it ever did and all it ever does is boost your ego and make it possible for you to worship yourself. Something I will never be interested in doing ever again.'_ Kaori pronounces sadly as she disappears from the mirror.

Takashi takes a look at Sokka and Toph who are now in the middle of a heated make out session on the kitchen floor.

'_Newbies. You have no idea what's coming,' _Takashi portends with a chuckle as he too disappears from the mirror.

* * *

_Author's notes-_

_First and foremost, my biggest thanks to Alaburn who is now my BETA! I love you so so so much. So that explains why this chapter is the best one yet. Another big thanks to Fruipit for all your encouragement, you are the bomb._

_So as usual, big thanks to everyone who has faved, followed and reviewed. I honestly never would have continued this story without all of you cheering me on. _

_As usual, sorry for any OOCness that may occur. I know the language was rough but again, Toph is a badass. The whole Kaori and Takashi thing is just warming up. _

_And I'm sure you are all thinking 'FINALLY! THEY KISSED!' But what you should know is this is the calm before the storm. _

_As someone famously said. "Let the bloodbath begin." _


	9. Boomerang

Who Are You?

Chapter 8

Hotaru

The Chief and his eldest son are walking home by way of the village's main street from a night out of drinking when a figure steps out from the shadows. His glowing, violet eyes strike fear into both of the seasoned warriors as an unnatural terror freezes their movements. The assailant with otherworldly-looking eyes cuts them both down with one slice of his sword. The wet-sounding thud of bodies hitting the ground alerts the Chief's second and third in command, but just as they reach the bloodbath, they are cut down as well, leaving a heap of bloody and dismembered bodies in the street. The scene of carnage is branded with dark irony, as this is the street that had always been considered to be the embodiment of Hotaru's strong, moral government.

The assailant flees to the nearest cliff, the violet coloring of his irises fading to reveal terrified, brown ones only moments before his body shatters against the jagged rocks below.

Republic City

To say that Sokka was nervous would be an understatement. He knocks on the door to Toph's house and is surprised to see a strange, young woman answer instead.

"Ambassador Sokka, you're early. Toph isn't quite ready yet, but she said you could wait in the kitchen. I believe there are some snacks on the counter," she informs him as she lets him inside and disappears into Toph's bedroom where Sokka can hear Toph grumble and complain about her 'mortal enemy'.

'The dress', Sokka surmises to himself, allowing a smirk to grace his otherwise uneasy features as he nibbles on the snacks provided.

"Perfect!" the young woman suddenly proclaims.

Sokka steps out of the kitchen to see Toph walk out of the bedroom and make her way down the hallway. His jaw drops and his eyes bulge as all the air escapes his lungs while his goddess seems to float toward him. A smirk forms on Toph's lips as she moves closer, feeling his intense, physical reaction to her appearance.

"Thank you, Mei. You've completed your task in rendering my boyfriend speechless," Toph praises the young woman as she passes them in the hallway.

"You're welcome, Toph, have fun tonight," Mei calls back with a knowing giggle as she lets herself out.

Sokka could barely register the door opening and closing, let alone that the world contained more than just the two of them at that moment. Toph was a sight to behold; the dress was crème and green colored with gold accents. Her makeup was soft yet striking, with gold and green eye shadow and a light dusting of pink on the apples of her cheeks. She resembles a perfect, porcelain doll, a sharp contrast to the sinful thoughts her exquisiteness inspires in him.

"Ok, it's either really bad or really good, because you're not saying anything..." Toph says as she furrows her eyebrows.

"Really, really, really, really good," Sokka confirms as he nods his head vigorously.

"Well, then let's get this over with," she replies with a chuckle.

Sokka reaches out to grasp her shoulders and pulls her closer to himself, kissing her softly so as not to destroy her lipstick.

"Don't start anything you can't finish," she lightly chastises.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he croons, his voice already dark with lust.

"Later," Toph proposes as she pushes him out the door.

"Fine," he relents with an ungratified sigh.

Sokka couldn't help but feel prideful satisfaction in having the most beautiful woman in the world on his arm that night. At first, Toph was uncomfortable with all the stares she felt being directed at her. But once Sokka assured her that they were staring because of how beautiful she looked, and not at her blindness, she seemed to be much more at ease. He even managed to get her to dance with him.

"So are you having fun despite being so close with your mortal enemy?" Sokka inquires as they move gracefully across the dance floor.

"Mortal enemy?" Toph reiterates in confusion.

"The dress," Sokka clarifies.

"Oh right. The stupid, ridiculous dress. Yeah, I guess you could say I'm having fun, especially since I spiked the punch..." Toph responds with a mischievous grin.

"I wondered if that was you."

"This shindig was getting way too boring, so it was either that, or ask you and a few others to play strip Pai Sho to spice things up a little bit," she teases, instigating Sokka to trip over himself and struggle to regain his composure.

"Again, Snoozles, way too easy to tease," she says with a giggle.

"Well if you really wanted out of that dress you could have asked me take it off with my teeth like last time," Sokka counters, causing Toph to blush and trip herself.

"Speaking of which, that was really fun. Maybe we should go for another round tonight, because as I recall, the last one was a tie, and I know how much you hate not being undefeated," Sokka rasps near her ear, triggering a visible shiver to snake down her body.

He leans in just enough to trail the tip of his nose across her cheek to her ear. "And if I remember correctly, I believe my name is your new favorite word for when you lose all of your precious control," he whispers so that only she can hear.

Dear, sweet Agni, she loved that. It was his deepest, sexiest voice and it never failed to get her going. She could be in the worst of moods, in the hottest of furies, and one sentence from him in that voice could reduce her to a pile of lustful, quivering flesh at his feet. It wasn't fair, the power he had over her. But then again, she had a few moves that did the same thing to him, so maybe she wasn't at such a disadvantage after all.

Layla keeps an eye on the couple as they interact in obvious bliss over the course of the evening, and couldn't be more thrilled for them. Sokka had become like a son to her, and it pleased her to see him so happy. That was until she saw an emissary approach him with a message, the red seal on it signifying that it was urgent. Her heart sinks as she observes him retreat into a corner to read it, an expression of mortification occupying his features as his eyes scan the note. Trepidation fills her mind as she makes a beeline across the room to him.

"Sokka! What's wrong? You feel like you are literally going to have a heart attack," Toph says worriedly as she places her hand over his heart.

"Here," Layla states as she holds out her hand for the message.

Sokka just stares off into space as his hands let go of the message. It drops to the floor in seemingly slow motion before Layla picks it up and reads it.

"Sokka, I am so sorry..." Layla mutters as soon as finishes absorbing its contents.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Toph demands.

"Sokka's uncle, the Chief of Hotaru, as well as his oldest son were murdered along with two others," Layla gently explains, keeping her voice low so the rest of the room won't hear.

Toph gasps in horror at the news. "Who would do such a thing? Why?"

"I have no idea," Sokka finally manages to utter in a hollow voice, empty of its usual spirit and life.

"Sokka, I'm going to make arrangements for you to leave first thing in the morning. You will be needed by Hotaru to help sort all of this out. Why don't you go home now and pack?" Layla offers.

"Thank you," Sokka murmurs quietly before giving her a bone crushing hug.

"I'm so sorry, Son, but it will be ok," Layla reassures softly before turning her attention back to Toph.

"Toph, keep an eye on him tonight. I will see you two at the docks tomorrow morning at first tide," she notifies them before handing the message back and leaving.

A young woman stands only a few paces away with arctic blue eyes. She clenches her jaw and looks right at Princess Azula's right hand man, the one with unusual, violet-colored eyes.

"Takashi..." she growls as she marches right up to him and grabs his arm to haul him off. Azula snatches his other arm to keep him from leaving her side.

"Let go, Princess," the young woman warns viciously as her eyes give an inhuman glow.

Azula is taken aback by the spectacle and looks to her companion who smirks with a ratifying nod.

"Kaori?" Azula questions.

"The one and only," Takashi beams with glee. Getting a rise out of Kaori seemed to be one of the few joys he has been able to experience over the last century or so.

"You and I need to have a talk, Takashi." Kaori snaps as she jerks him out of Azula's grasp and into a private room.

"You sick fuck," Kaori snarls accusingly as she shuts the door and stands toe to toe with him.

"Why my sweet Kaori, I have no idea what you mean..." Takashi coos, feigning innocence.

"You killed the Chief, his son, and his co-regents. You just sent Hotaru into a world of chaos. And all for what? To take Sokka away from Toph?" she infers, getting more exasperated by the minute.

"See, that is one of your few flaws, dearest. You never could see the big picture; you were always about the small details," he mollifies.

"What do you mean...?" she asks warily.

"Do you really think I've killed all those people just to break up your little couple?" Takashi asked.

"Why...oh no, you wouldn't..." Kaori stammers as she gawks at him with wide, frightened eyes. He merely grins as if he were the devil himself.

"I'm done. I can't deal with you anymore. I used to feel guilty for what I did, but now… forget it. You are beyond even Kudokuten's help," Kaori says as she backs away and attempts to leave before he quickly seizes her by the arm.

"What do you mean, Kudokuten's help? And what do you mean 'guilty'? What have _you_ ever done?" He asks as he forces her to look at him.

"Kaori, what did you do?"

148 Years Ago.

A woman stands on the edge of a cliff bordering the stormy sea, her eyes dull and full of pain. They had cried their last tears hours ago.

"Hana! No!" Kaori cries out as she runs as fast as she can toward her friend.

But Hana doesn't even acknowledge her. She raises her face to the sky, letting the rain wash her soul one last time. Kaori gets just out arms reach when Hana jumps.

"_**NO!**_" Kaori screams as she helplessly watches her friend plummet to the jagged rocks below, her body splattering in a burst of red against the black of the rocks and the blues and greens of the ocean. The waves come and wash away most of the destruction, but Kaori falls to her knees and begs every deity for forgiveness as her own soul shatters. Kudokuten herself appears beside to her.

"It's alright, little one, she is at peace now," the spirit says softly.

"But what about Takashi?" Kaori wails.

Republic City Ball

Kaori stands there in front of him, her eyes full of guilt and sadness. "You have the blood of thousands on your hands and yet there is no guilt in you. I have been trying for over 100 years to wash the blood of _one_ off of my hands, yet every time I get close to fulfilling my obligation of penance, you get in the way. Every person you kill takes me that much further away from finally being free. To be able to actually sleep in death and not...be tormented by...you know what? Forget it. Agni himself can burn me alive as a sacrifice for my own sin. Yours are no longer worth the trouble," she spits as she wrenches herself from his grasp.

"Kaori!" he roars, turning her around to face him, only to find that the arctic blue was gone from her eyes.

"Excuse me? What the hell is your problem, buddy?" The young woman starts as she turns back around and storms away from him.

He stares wildly around the room, looking at all the reflective surfaces for any speck of arctic blue. He finally spots her reflection in a mirror and leaves his host to join her.

"Kaori! What did you do?!" he demands again.

"Leave me alone!" She screams back.

Takashi's host watches the manifestation before him in the mirror before sneaking out of the room to retrieve Azula.

"Princess, you have to come see this," he insists as he pulls her away from the fray.

Azula follows reluctantly, but stops as she witnesses the sight of the two spirits screaming at each other in the mirror. As Kaori attacks Takashi, the mirror shakes and shatters, and Azula continues to watch in fascination as the spirits jump from one reflective surface to the other, destroying the room in their wake.

Sokka feels nothing but numbness as he walks into his house. Toph shuts the door and steers him to his bedroom, encouraging him to try and pack as she goes into the other room to change out of her dress. She returns with her hair down and wearing only a silk tank top and shorts, and she can tell that Sokka has barely moved. He sits motionless on the bed, his head in his hands. He wasn't weeping yet, but she senses that his tears are imminent. She crosses the room and gets on her knees in front of him, taking his hands into hers and kissing the knuckles before putting them on her waist and reaching up to hold his face in her hands.

"Tell me what you need from me to help you," she implores with clear concern in her sightless eyes.

Sokka places his hands over hers and lets out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "I...I need...I don't know what I need," Sokka admits, still feeling hollow and numb.

"I do," Toph whispers as she plants a kiss on his forehead and hugs him tightly, letting him know her heart was broken along with his as he finally allows himself to break down.

Sokka feels as though his entire being is on fire with pain and guilt, and that Toph is his cooling balm.

The next morning at the docks, Toph gives Sokka an oddly-shaped, wrapped gift.

"What is it?" he queries curiously.

"It's a weapon called a boomerang. I've been told that no matter how hard you throw it, it will always find its way back to you. No matter what, it will come back," Toph emphasizes, hoping that Sokka will comprehend the double meaning.

He folds her into an embrace and kisses her fiercely in response.

"I will always come back to you Toph. Always," Sokka promises resolutely as he inhales her wildflower scent one last time. His heart breaks all over again. He hates to leave her. He needs her. She is the glue that's holding him together at the moment because she is so strong, he admires her strength, wishing he could be half as steeled as she is.

"I'll miss you so much beloved." He whispers as he pulls away. He sees the tears starting to form in her eyes, the fear of separation is gripping her heart as hard as it's gripping his own.

"I'll miss you too love." She whimpers back, wishing with every ounce of her soul she could see him.

"I love you." She suddenly proclaims. He smiles despite his pain and kisses her again, committing to memory just how exquisite and amazing she is.

"I love you too Toph, I'll always love you." He declares as the boat's warning whistle sounds and he forces himself to leave her there.

"Safe travels son." Layla says from a distance, not wanting to intrude on the couples any more then she has to.

"Thank you mom." Sokka replies with a sad smile as he walks up the steps to board the ship. Layla steps closer and subtly reaches out to hold Toph's hand.

"It will be ok, it can not, not be ok. He will come back." Layla repeated as a mantra, not really knowing what else to say.

"I know." Toph said, hoping rather then believing in her own words.

* * *

_Author's notes- _

_First of all- my biggest thanks to Alaburn who is more then just my beta, she is my soundboard and story confident and so much more. I owe you so much girl, you have no idea. _

_Next, I would like to thank all you Tokka fans who read this, fave it, follow it and especially review it. It's the greatest feeling in the world to see them. I honestly never would have continued to write this if it wasn't for you. _

_So things I should explain. _

_Since this is a more Japanese centered AU fic, I have included a Japanese Deity. PLEASE pay attention to who I picked, this detail will come into play in a major way later on. _

_If anyone misses the Azula evilness in this chapter, don't worry, you will get an over abundance of it next chapter. I really just wanted to focus on Toph and Sokka as a couple in this one because, well, shit happens. So soak it all in now because the body count is only getting bigger, the story gets darker, so on and so forth. Just warning you. _

_Oh and how sexy is Sokka in this chapter? Damn that was so fun to write. _

_Thank you for reading, as always, faves, follows and reviews, comments, suggestions, constructive criticism and death threats are welcome. Especially after the next chapter, I'm expecting the death threats to pour in. _


	10. Heart Attack

Who Are You?

Chapter 9

Hotaru

Immediately upon his arrival on the island, Sokka disembarks from the boat and heads straight to his father's house to console his parents and to try to figure out what actions need to be taken. It is now the responsibility of Sokka and his father to plan the funerals, as well to maintain order and general upkeep of the city. Even with Sokka's added assistance, the daunting amount of tasks needing to be performed have them feeling completely overwhelmed, especially since the younger son of the former Chief was currently missing. He was only a boy of fifteen years old and five years shy of legally being able to take over his father's role as Chief. A search for his whereabouts was conducted over the entire island, but he was nowhere to be found.

Republic City

Sokka had only been gone a week, but Toph already felt like she was going to go insane. Since she was blind, it wasn't like he could just write her a letter, but he did write to Layla with messages included for Toph. However, despite the fact that she at least had something from him, a major strain had been placed on the two of them and their relationship. Obviously, he couldn't express all of his feelings to her in a letter, because in order for her to know its contents, it would also be seen by at least one other person.

It was during this time that Deputy Ling began stepped forward and tried to take the stress off of his boss. Ling was secretly overjoyed that Sokka was gone; he had had feelings for Toph for years, but because of the relationship dynamic, was never able to express them. He now felt confident that his opportunity had finally arrived, yet he knew he couldn't just come right out and say, 'Toph, I've been in love with you for forever, marry me.' She would probably either laugh at his affections or make him a stone coffin and bury him in the side of a hill. Somehow, Sokka seemed to get behind her walls easy enough by playing the 'friend', so Ling decided to follow the same pattern. To Ling's delight, it seemed to be working, but she still wouldn't stop wearing her armor around him. Even in public, Toph had ceased to wear her armor when she was with Sokka on a date or an outing or whatever.

But now every time they heard from Sokka, it seemed it would take months at the earliest before he returned to Republic City. Surely they would drift apart in that kind of time? Especially since the relationship was formed so quickly. Time was on his side.

Hotaru

"Sokka, you're not going to believe who's here," his mother announces excitedly as she barges into his office.

"Toph?" Sokka asks, feeling like his heart might leap out of his chest and perform somersaults.

"She's the blind girl, right? No, not her. Someone much better. Princess Azula!" his mother beams at him.

Sokka's heart sinks as he groans loudly. Granted, she had been rather pleasant lately, and had even endeavored to send him a letter of advice the other week, which once implemented, helped more then he thought it would.

He grudgingly stands up from his chair and forces a smile onto his face as the Fire Nation Princess enters the room. "Princess Azula, what an unexpected surprise," he greets.

"I have told you repeatedly, you can just call me Azula. I hear from Ambassador Layla as well as Chief Beifong that things aren't quite falling into place here, so I thought I'd come and offer my assistance." Azula explains. "It's the least I can do for a friend," she adds, noting how both of his parents are almost drooling at the thought of their son having such a powerful friend, even if she is a woman.

"Thank you," Sokka replies, albeit reluctantly. This was _**his**_ home, and he wasn't keen on the idea of an outside influence trying to 'fix' anything.

"Ok, first things first. Have you found the killer?" Azula asks as they sit down to tea in his father's living room, beginning the first in a stream of incessant questions.

"No," Sokka answers.

"Did you offer a reward?"

"Yes."

"Did you search the entire island, including all caves, alcoves, tunnels, etc.?"

"Yes."

"What about the entire shore line? Even the rocky parts that 'seem' to be inaccessible?"

"No."

"Well, there you go. Do that. Next, is anyone 'missing'?" Azula continues in her interrogation.

"My cousin, the youngest son of my late uncle."

"Well, gee, that seems awfully obvious," Azula drawls as Sokka's parents gasp at the implication.

"He would never..." Sokka's father attempts to defend his nephew, but is unable to find the words.

"How old is he?" Azula inquires.

"Only fifteen," Sokka responds, dumbfounded.

"What's his personality type?"

"Brooding," Sokka's mother replies, to which Azula raises an eyebrow.

"So let me get this straight, in one night, your Chief, his oldest son, which I am assuming was the next in line, along with the only two other people who could have taken over as Chief until the youngest son is of age, are murdered. And this younger son, who is at the age where violent behaviors become physically manifested AND is known for having a 'brooding' personality, comes up missing and _**no one**_ thinks to suspect him?" Azula points out.

This astounding assertion has Sokka and his parents effectively stunned into silence.

In a sudden burst of frustration and energy, Sokka stands and announces he's going to search the island's entire coast line. But he quickly discovers that he doesn't even have to hunt that far. The first rocky coastline was within running distance from the main city, and to his utter dismay, Sokka finds his young cousin's half rotted corpse strewn across the rocks. At first, he's in denial of the gruesome sight before him, but he soon identifies the body of his relative, via the unique tattoos the boy had been well known for possessing. The most note worthy being a killer whale's tail fin tattooed across the chest, the edge of the fin running across the natural shape of the collarbone. A tattoo Sokka himself possessed.

Sokka gathers some men to help retrieve what was left of the body, and as they approach it, a sickening wave of nausea rolls throughout his entire being. The grief and horror of it all is almost too much to bear. His cousin had only been a child, after all. Maybe he hadn't had the sunniest of dispositions, but he couldn't believe he would actually commit all those senseless murders, no matter what Azula said.

The men began gathering the remains, working in morbid silence. Sokka notices something off to the side, glinting brightly in the sun. He bends to retrieve it and recognizes it at once as a nobleman's sword. He firmly pushes away the thought that it might have been used in the killings. There were thousands of swords on the island; it didn't have to mean anything.

"Sir, I think you should look at this!" One of the men calls over to Sokka suddenly.

He turns around as the man walks up to him, his face grim and his hand held out to offer Sokka the small object resting in his palm.

Sokka picks it up and examines it with shaking fingers. It's a large, silver ring with a familiar seal stamped on the metal. It is the official signet of the Chief of Hotaru. It was his uncle's ring.

"It was in his pocket," the man explains sadly.

After the funeral procession, Azula suggests that Sokka's father would be the next logical choice as Chief since his grandfather's wishes of having Sokka's uncle and his succeeding line be the Chiefs of Hotaru can no longer be honored. The change is passed by the people of Hotaru quickly and without any conflict. Following these events, Azula becomes almost inseparable from Sokka during the day, under the argument that she should help him to prepare for his new duties as the son of the Chief.

"You may want to think about getting a new Ambassador to Republic City..." Azula begins one day as she and Sokka walk through the small city.

"Why?" Sokka questions, immediately resistant to the proposition.

"Because you are the only son of Hotaru's new Chief," she simpers sweetly, appealing to his sense of honor. "You have a greater duty to your people to stay here and earn their trust and respect. You can't be away anymore. It would take very little to throw Hotaru back into chaos. And you wouldn't want to do that to your people would you?"

"But what about Toph?"

"What about her? It would be in everyone's best interest for you to break it off with her. You have a very heavy, very serious duty and obligation to your people. Anyway, it's not unheard of or even rare for a man of high position to make sacrifices for the good of his people. If she loved you enough, she would give up her world and career for you, regardless of how hard she's worked for it. But you and I both know she won't, and even if she did, you would have to worry about her becoming resentful towards you. It's not like she could be the Chief of Police here in Hotaru. The thought of having your female cousins take over was so hated that the people preferred you and your father over them before even really considering it. Hotaru is a strictly patriarchal society. Its government has gone on this long maintaining that principal, and the people probably think that that is the only way they will continue to survive. They have already lost so much, Sokka. Would you really deprive them of the last shred of stability that they see in you? You are the future now. You are not a coward, so you cannot run away."

Republic City

"I'm sorry, Toph. I haven't gotten any messages from Sokka in a week. But what I did get is a copy of a newspaper from Hotaru. Every official in Republic City got a copy..." Layla updates her dejectedly.

"What does the newspaper say?" Deputy Ling asks.

"You read it, I can't stomach the words," Layla insists as she hands Ling the newspaper.

He proceeds to read it aloud, while both Layla and Toph cringe at the news.

It was reported that Princess Azula was instrumental in not only helping Sokka and his father restore order, but in also aiding them in finding the murderer, who, consequently, had been the youngest son of the late Chief. It was assumed to have been a grab for power that led to overwhelming guilt, causing him to end his own life by throwing himself off a cliff.

He then went on to read the personal section of the newspaper, which had statements from several people in Hotaru, including Sokka's parents, on the status of Sokka's relationship with Princess Azula. They all swore that the pair were at least courting, and that they all expected an engagement announcement soon. They also stated how happy and proud they were of their Ambassador, soon to be Chief, for his impressive and honorable alliance.

Layla watches as a metal dish containing sweets on her desk begins to contort and become crushed by an unseen force. She views Toph's face with concern and notes the barely disguised rage painting her features.

"Enough, Ling," Layla warns, interrupting him.

"But..."

"I said enough!" Layla snaps as she stands up from her desk and places her fists on hard surface. "It is sad enough what has happened to Sokka and his family, it is even worse to have people place speculation on what they clearly don't know anything about. How about you take over for Toph in her usual duties this afternoon? She and I need to have a talk, preferably over tea." Layla declares, trying to maintain her countenance despite her outburst.

"Or sake," Toph adds with a clenched jaw.

"Yes, definitely sake," Layla confirms as Toph follows her out of the room.

Five Hours Later

"I think you should go see him on Hotaru," Layla advises as she and Toph lounge on her sofa with empty bottles of sake surrounding them.

"I can't! How awkward would that be? To just show up at his parent's door and say 'Hi, I'm your son's blind girlfriend who believes everything about your culture is wrong, and now that your son is so important to you, I'm here to steal him away again'. Yeah I can only imagine how well that will go over, especially if that bitch Azula is still there. I know she is only doing this for some devious ulterior motive. That girl is nothing but trouble and bad news. Besides, I have my own job and responsibilities...I can't just… walk away." Toph laments.

"Yes you can. You have Ling, who practically does your job anyway. Speaking of which, please tell me you know that he likes you? That man hangs off of your every word, and it's not because it's his job. He seemed a little too pleased that Sokka was unexpectedly pulled away from you." Layla discerns.

"Yeah, unfortunately I've been aware of that for years. That's why I'm always particularly hard on him, hoping he will just either snap out of it or grow out of it. He seemed to back off when Sokka came along but... I don't know. It's been nice to have him around; he's loyal, dependable and honest."

"But you feel nothing for him besides a working friendship, do you?" Layla perceives.

"Nope. Sucks to be him." Toph replies bluntly.

Layla chuckles at her sentiment. "It does indeed. But you should at least think about visiting. If not anything else, at least just make sure Azula isn't trying to bed him. She's a crafty one, I'll give her that. But Sokka is an honorable man, and hopefully that will keep him from making a mistake," Layla reflects.

Hotaru

Azula dismounts and struggles to catch her breath, every nerve ending in her body buzzing with excitement as she comes down from her peak. Her lover is equally out of breath, but the satisfied grin on his face says it all.

"When do you want to leave?" she pants out as she wipes her forehead.

"As soon as you are ready, dearest," he answers as he rolls onto his side to face her.

"You are such a magnificent creature, Azula. No wonder your father favors you, for you are clearly a gifted prodigy, and in more than one way might I add. Soon the world will be in your hands, and you will have no equal," he coos as his eyes glow a little brighter violet than normal.

"Keep talking like that and we will never leave this bedroom," she purrs back as she also rolls onto her side and lightly rakes her fingernails over his chest, sending a shiver through his body.

"The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back," he whispers as he plants kisses down her neck.

She moans but pushes him away. "Okay, fine. Give me two minutes," She says as she gets out of bed.

She opens her trunk, pulling out a black sneaking suit and double checking her special needles that she had tucked into a special pocket on her thigh. She peers out of the corner of her eye as he does the same. For all that was holy, she loves this particular form Takashi has inhabited; it's strong, muscular, dexterous, and has stamina for miles.

He pulls out an air glider that he had built based on the one he used to have when he was a mortal over 150 years ago.

"I can't believe you used to be an Airbender. Your personality type is much more geared toward firebending." Azula comments as she eyes the piece.

"Fire cannot exist without air," he states with a grin as they exit the room and climb up onto the roof.

"Ready, dearest?" he questions her as he wraps an arm around her and pulls her into the glider.

"Ready," she sanctions as she holds on to him and the contraption in a tight grip.

Republic City

The two assassins land quietly in the backyard of Deputy Ling's home. Takashi picks the lock and Azula makes her way inside, pulling out a gag from one of her pockets and drenching it with the liquid from a prepared vial as she moves silently through the house to where the Deputy was sleeping peacefully. She places the gag over his mouth, to which he briefly struggles, but soon stops resisting.

"Good boy, Ling," Azula murmurs condescendingly as he drifts off into unconsciousness.

She unbuttons his night shirt just enough to expose the expanse of chest covering his heart. She takes the two, very thin copper needles out of her other pocket and sticks them in his chest. She smiles wickedly as she focuses her energy and permits a small bolt of lightning to jump from one set of fingers that were touching one needle and to flow to the other set of fingers touching the other needle, in essence becoming a natural anti-defibrillator. The electricity causes his heart to seize, resulting in giving him an instantaneous heart attack. After two mini bolts, she succeeds in killing him.

"Well done, Azula," Takashi praises as she removes the needles that are so thin, they don't leave any visible puncture marks or even cause the body to bleed.

"Who's next?" Azula asks as she puts her needles away.

"How about we pay Ambassador Layla a visit..." he suggests with an evil grin as they withdraw from the house, locking it and leaving no trace of their intrusion.

* * *

_Author's notes-_

_My biggest thanks go to Alaburn for not only beta-ing but also for providing the chilling segment where Sokka finds the sword among the rocks and is given the silver ring, the whale tattoo thing and everything else is mine. _

_So who else thinks that Takasi has taken over Sokka's body for that last segment? (no, that's not me laughing evilly, because the irony of Takasi using Sokka to kill his adopted mother would be so cruel, so deliciously evil wouldn't it? I guess we will just have to wait and see won't we?)_

_I feel the need to explain some things. _

_First, Sokka's parents in this fic are NOT Hakoda and Kya, noticed I haven't named them otherwise. _

_Second, When Takashi and Kaori take over a host the first visible change is the eye color,. However, the longer they stay in a host or the more times they use any particular host, the more the host's appearance will change to look like the spirit's original mortal body, because if you take over the mind, the body will follow suit, that includes bending ability. _

_Also, has anyone else noticed how Takashi only inhabits men and Kaori only takes over women? Just something to think about. _

_So with all of this in mind, I will retreat and wait for your death threats as I work on chapter 10._

_Thank you for all the faves, follows and the reviews, you Tokka fans are the best fandom in the world. _


	11. Fight For Your Life

Who Are You?

Chapter 10

Republic City

Takashi and Azula land in Layla's walled courtyard without making a sound, although a peal of thunder rolls in the distance. Takashi slings the glider over his shoulder and once again picks the lock as Azula prepares to repeat the process.

"We will have to hurry to beat the storm," Takashi warns in a whisper.

They enter the house and unexpectedly met by Mei, Layla's daughter, as well as Layla herself standing in the living room. Mei's eyes glow arctic blue as she turns on the light upon they're entrance into the room.

"Well good evening Princess Azula, Takashi," Mei greets.

"Kaori, I should have guessed you would intervene. Although, I thought that after our last encounter you were done dealing with this," Takashi counters as he pulls off his mask, clearly identifying himself as possessing Azula's right hand man. "You might as well do the same Azula, they won't live to identify us anyway," he adds with a chuckle.

"Very well," Azula consents as she too pulls off her mask.

"You've been possessing that body too much, Takashi. I can see the blue arrow tattoos on your hands coming through from here," Kaori points out as she nods to his hands.

The downside of possessing a body too long is that it will eventually take on the aspects of the original mortal one. When you take over the mind, the body will follow suit.

"Well I would have loved to take Sokka, considering how ironic it would have been to have him murder his mother figure as well as competition for your precious Toph," he deliberates.

"But that would mean breaking our cardinal rule. If you take Sokka, I take Azula. The things that we could learn from each other...I wonder how much she knows about what's really going on...?" Kaori taunts as the two of them begin to circle each other as Takashi airbends all the furniture to the perimeter of the room.

"She knows enough," Takashi bites out, his eyes burning brightly.

"Like why your preferred method to killing is to throw people off of cliffs?" Kaori taunts further, no longer afraid of the burden they have both carried for almost a century and a half.

"Don't you dare..." he growls as he strikes at her, bending a ball of air at her and pushing her into a wall.

The thud of her body hitting the wall is deafening to Layla. It is her daughter's body after all. Layla can't resist letting her protective instincts take over as she makes a water whip out of the humidity in the air and proceeds to lash it out at him, striking him in the arm. She smiles sadistically as she watches the blood start to run down his arm.

"Azula, if you will," Takashi invites, gesturing towards the aging woman.

Azula produces enough lightning to short circuit all the lights in the house, throwing them into darkness. Layla and Mei settle into fighting stances, drawing the water from the rain that was now beginning to pour outside. Azula lights blue flames in her palms as she eyes her opponent, the lightening filling the room with bursts of light. Azula figured Layla had to be well over 40, probably close to 50 by now. And in Azula's opinion, Layla's body was most likely getting weak with old age, as well as burdened down with extra weight that came from the sedentary lifestyle of her line of work. Killing her shouldn't be that difficult. If they destroy the house as well, they could blame it on the Red Monsoons or whatever gang happened to be popular at the moment. Layla was a politician, all politicians have enemies. Surely they could pin this on someone.

Azula gives no warning as she suddenly throws fiery blasts at Layla, aiming to tear off her head. To Azula's surprise, Layla dodges and maneuvers around the blasts with ease.

"Not bad for an old woman," Azula mock compliments.

"That's what you get for thinking I'm that old," Layla retaliates as she rushes toward the princess and chi blocks her arm and side.

"Oh, that's low. A bender chi blocking another bender. Hypocrite," Azula sneers as she kicks flames at the older woman who barely manages to dodge the attack, Layla's outer robe catches the flames and Layla has to bend her water to herself to take out the flames before they burned her as well.

"That should be a compliment coming from the likes of you," Layla replies as she picks up Azula via waterbending and slams her against the ceiling, then the wall before throwing her at Takashi, who was currently going toe to toe with Mei/Kaori, a true sight to behold as she fought with a combination of Mei's natural waterbending and Kaori's airbending.

The force of all the fighting was taking a toll on the house and the walls were beginning to crack. With one feral kick of flames, Azula sets the living room on fire. Layla is forced to split her attention between fighting off Azula and trying to keep her house from being destroyed. But her efforts were in vain, as soon as she accomplishes to put out one fire, Azula starts at least two more.

Layla steals glances over at her daughter who is fighting in a style Layla has never seen before; both Takashi and Mei are moving at almost inhuman speed. Both are alternating between their form's natural ability and their spirit's. When Mei uses water, Takashi uses fire, filling the house with smoke, steam and fog. Then they would switch to both using airbending, causing the room to clear slightly. But Layla soon pays for allowing herself to be distracted. Azula backs her in a corner and lights everything around her on fire, the flames burning so hot that Layla can't pull water around herself to keep the flames from licking at her flesh. Her nose fills with the smell of everything burning including her own flesh and she closes her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. But it doesn't come as Mei pushes a wall of water toward her mother, dousing the flames before turning her attention to Azula.

Azula cries out in agony as she is eerily lifted off the ground and begins to contort. Layla stares at her daughter in shock as Mei glares at the princess.

"Mei!" Layla exclaims as she watches her daughter's eyes return to normal, but then her own take on the arctic blue shade.

"Takashi!" Azula cries out in anguish.

"Stop!" Takashi roars as he bends an air bubble around Mei's head and pulls all the air out of it, effectively suffocating her.

"Enough!" Layla/Kaori screams as she herself bends a ball of water to envelop Takashi's head. If he was going to suffocate Mei, he was going to drown himself.

It was a battle of who would give out first, until the house began to crash down on itself. At the last minute, Layla lets go of her hold on the water surrounding Takashi and bolts toward her daughter. Kaori uses Layla to airbend a massive air bubble around them to save them from the falling structure as Takashi does the same for Azula.

Just as Layla/Kaori airbends off enough rubble to break free, she sees Takashi deploy his glider and fly off with Azula's limp body, despite the heavy storm raging across the sky. Just as they fly out of sight Layla spots her older brother, Dichali and his oldest son, Yakone sprinting towards them. Layla's eyes return to normal as she feels Kaori leave her body.

"Kaska!" Dichali calls out as he climbs over the rubble and moves a piece of charred beam to kneel down next to her.

"Are you ok? What happened?" he asks as he tries to help her up.

"Get Mei to a hospital and call Toph," Layla, formally known as Kaska, struggles to direct as her body begins to go into shock, causing her to shake violently and throw up before passing out.

"Yakone, we have to get your cousin and aunt to the hospital. We will call the Chief of Police once we get there," Dichali instructs.

Yakone nods and leans over his younger cousin's body, quickly sensing that she's still alive. He breathes out a sigh of relief as he picks her up easily, and the two men sprint to the hospital.

Hotaru

Takashi lands haphazardly in the small yard and carries an unconscious Azula inside to her room. He barks at a guard to send for a healer immediately but not to alert anyone else. Takashi lays Azula on the bed carefully and begins to try and take off the sneaking suit so the healer will have access to her body.

"I'm so sorry, dearest," he whispers.

The healer comes into the room and instantly sets to work. "She's been bloodbended," she mutters with a gasp as she glances up at him with worry.

"Will she make it?" he asks as he watches her work.

The healer hesitates before answering. "I don't know. Whoever did this was a beginner. It's powerfully done but in a crude manner," she answers in a low voice as she focuses her attention on Azula's heart.

149 Years Ago

In the small seaside village where they reside, Takashi walks hand in hand with Hana as they talk about their upcoming wedding in a couple of weeks, and about which Hana couldn't be more excited. They stop by Kaori's shop to buy some herbs to help Hana conceive once the wedding is commenced. Kaori is happy for her friend but wonders if Takashi will remain faithful; however, she keeps her concerns to herself. Hana is her best friend and might as well be a sister. If Takashi were to ever lay a hand on Hana in anger or cheat on her, Kaori swore to herself that she would kill him. Push him off a cliff or something. But Hana is so happy and her happiness is contagious.

Hana has worked wonders on Takashi; he no longer flirts with anyone, he's a hard worker and built Hana the most beautiful house she has ever seen, and he's also mellowed out and become an honorable and respected man in the community. Some went as far as saying he had changed for good. Hana is convinced that Takashi is her soul mate, a sentiment that Takashi shares.

He can't see himself with anyone else for the rest of his life. Hana completes him, balances him, and makes him feel content and completely loved. He would be lost without her.

"I love you, dearest," he coos in Hana's ear as they leave the shop and continue down the street.

"Love you too. Forever," Hana replies as she leans into him, burying her head into his shoulder.

"Forever," Takashi whispers as he kisses the crown of her head.

Republic City

Toph is woken up in the dead of night by her phone ringing incessantly.

"What?" She barks but nearly drops the receiver as she hears what Dichali tells her over the phone.

"I will be right there," Toph answers as she throws clothes onto her frame along with her armor.

She bends her way to the hospital in record time, and she orders a random nurse to call Ling and tell him to get his ass to the hospital as soon as possible before she arrives Layla's room.

"Toph," Layla croaks from her bed.

"Layla, what the hell happened?" Toph demands as she steps near the bed.

"Azula and her right hand man, who was being possessed by a spirit named Takashi, attacked my daughter and me tonight. They destroyed my home in the process," Layla explains, trying to keep her voice even and calm despite her rage.

"How could they do that? They are supposed to be in Hotaru, a full day's journey from here," Toph argues.

"Takashi airbended them here. They came to assassinate me to begin throwing Republic City into the same kind of turmoil Hotaru is in, as well as probably deliver yet another devastating blow to Sokka..." Layla expounds.

"But Avatar Aang is the _**ONLY**_ airbender alive," Toph states.

"Not necessarily. Takashi is battling another spirit who goes by Kaori. They were both airbenders when they were mortals around 170 years ago. When they take over a body, they allow their bending to blend with the bending ability of the host."

"How do you know all of this?"

"Kaori possessed me herself for a little while tonight; it's how Mei and I are still alive right now, but she also shared her mind with me. I know about the dreams Toph, and I know that she has helped Sokka find you. She's been trying to keep Azula from systematically taking over the world and help Takashi get off the dark path he has chosen to follow. But before you question your feelings for Sokka as something she put there, don't. Sokka was meant for you; she just helped him find you sooner," Layla explains with a sad smile.

"Okay, so let's say for a moment that everything you say is true. How could I do anything about it?" Toph questions as she sits in a chair next to the bed.

"As soon as I can, I will go with you to Hotaru and confront her there. She was...damaged in the fight. It will take her a while to heal. I made several marks on her body that won't heal easy that I can identify. Mei is in a coma. Hopefully she will wake up soon and she too can testify to the event," Layla offers.

"Okay. Now care to explain why the leader of the Red Monsoons called me at home at 3am?" Toph questions.

"Toph, I'm going to let you in on a secret, but as a friend, I hope you keep it to yourself... Dichali is my brother. His son, Yakone, is my nephew. My real first name is Kaska, but I use my middle name Layla for an over abundance of reasons. But just because my family is who they are does not mean I have any other ties to them or their 'business'. I've tried to distance myself from that branch of my family but they are family after all. It was Dichali and Yakone that came to our rescue tonight. But I have some even more bad news, Ling is dead, Azula killed him."

Toph's eyes widen as she feels the air rush out of her lungs. "No..." she breathes.

"I'm so sorry that you have to hear this from me of all people. You should find him at his home, in his bed. Upon the initial examination, a healer will determine that he had a heart attack, but Kaori informed me of how he really died..."

Toph listens silently as Layla explains and is unable to move.

_**'There is a storm coming. You will need an anchor to weather it. Otherwise, you'll drown.' **_The words play over and over inside Toph's mind. Without Sokka she feels like a boat being tossed around by the sea. Now without Ling, it feels like a hurricane has descended on her and she was caught without her anchor.

"Layla, as soon as you're able, we're going to Hotaru. Azula is going down," Toph says angrily as she stands.

"I'll be ready in a couple of hours; I just need to get my healer. Again Toph, I'm so sorry..." Layla replies.

Toph nods and leaves the room to deal with Ling and to get her third in command to take her place in her absence.

A moment after Toph exits the room, Dichali and Yakone come in and Layla can't help but give them a warm smile in greeting.

"There you are. I was hoping you would stick around. I have a question and a favor to ask," Layla begins as they nod at her expectantly.

"First, who taught Mei how to blood bend?" Layla asks, doing her best to keep as calm as possible. The two men look at each other before Yakone takes a half step forward.

"I did, Aunt Kaska," He answers respectfully.

"Why? Did she ask you to teach her or did you seek her out to see if she carried the _gift_?" Layla inquires carefully. Personally, she thought it was a curse, but that curse did just save both her daughter and herself, so maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought.

"She came to me. I know how you feel about it, but she was very insistent. She wanted to be able to defend herself against _**anything**_. After today I would say she succeeded," Yakone responds thoughtfully and barely contained pride.

"I see. Well, I'm not going to lie. I don't appreciate you two going behind my back, but it did save our lives. But please, don't teach her anything else. I would like to protect her from the particular evils this family deals with. Is that clear?" Layla stipulates.

"Yes ma'am," Yakone replies, taking a step back.

"Thank you. Now in a few hours I will be joining Chief Beifong to Hotaru to confront my attackers. I need Halona to help me heal so I can survive the journey," Layla beseeches.

"I'll go get her," Yakone volunteers.

"Thank you, Yakone," Layla says with an appreciating nod.

"You've trained him well," Layla commends her brother once Yakone is gone.

Dichali smiles brightly at the praise. "I've taught him how to survive, and how to lead and protect the ones he cares about."

"Important skills to have if he wants to see 25," Layla rejoins.

"He told me Mei's a powerful bender. You should be proud of her."

"I am, but I'm not proud of how she did it. There is a reason I've changed my name, changed her name. I don't want her to fall into the 'business' as you so aptly put it. There are some really dangerous people in your 'company', and I don't want to see her get hurt. That's why you and Yakone are to protect her while I'm gone. Don't let her out of your sight. You're my brother; I know you won't let me down," Layla says as she puts her hand on his and squeezes tightly.

"You know I won't. I'm just glad we found you. It was Yakone that felt something was wrong. That boy has instincts I wish I had at his age," Dichali reflects as he places his hand over hers, squeezing back.

"Yakone is a warrior in his own right, granted, the battles and wars he fights in are different than what most would expect, but he's a warrior all the same. I just fear he will become too hardened and lose his way, like Father did," Layla admits sadly as she watches the features on her brother's face turn dark.

"I'll be damned if he ever turns out like that monster," Dichali spits.

Layla hums and nods in agreement.

"I better go check on Mei," Dichali says after a beat.

"Thank you," Layla calls after him as he passes his wife, Halona, in the doorway, planting a kiss on her cheek before continuing on his way to visit his niece while his son follows closely behind.

"So please tell me you killed whoever did this to you," Halona says with a grimace as she begins her work.

"No, but I will," Layla assures her darkly.

"Would you like any help? I'm available, and I know Yakone is furious that anyone dared to mess with this family. I think if Mei wasn't in a coma he would go with you and kill whoever did this himself. Mei is like a twin sister to him, even with the four year age difference."

"I know, but it won't be necessary. This old dog still has a trick or two," Layla jokes.

"That she does," Halona replies with a smile as she continues her work.

148 and a half years ago.

"It will happen, Hana, I know it will. Don't give up; you're on the strongest dose possible. I'm guessing that when you do conceive you will at least have twins," Kaori consoles as Hana cries into her shoulder.

"But I just want to know why!" Hana sobs.

"I don't know sweetheart. I wish I did. I know you and Takashi are trying as hard as you can. It's no one's fault. These things just take time, that's all," Kaori soothes as she pets Hana's hair.

"How is Takashi taking this?" Kaori asks.

"Not well. It tears him apart to see me so distraught," Hana admits.

"The mark of true love I think," Kaori states with a small smile.

Hana laughs despite her tears and bobs her head in agreement.

"Hana?" Takashi calls as he knocks on Kaori's door.

Kaori opens the door to let him in.

"Oh Hana... dearest," Takashi murmurs as he sits next to his wife on the couch and hugs her tightly.

"I'm going to go make tea..." Kaori mutters as she leaves the couple to themselves in her living room. She returns to witness the scene of Hana in Takashi's lap and resting her head on his chest.

"Aw, that's so cute," Kaori quips with a smile as she hands them their tea.

"Ugh, this is horrible!" Takashi grimaces as he takes a sip and watches as Hana nearly gags.

"What did you give us?" Hana asks.

"Special 'fun happy time' tea, it tastes horrible, but… um, you two may want to get in a bedroom in the next half hour or so if you catch my drift," Kaori informs them with a blush.

"Oh," Hana replies as she looks at the tea in her cup for a moment before pinching her nose and downing it in two gulps. She looks expectantly at Takashi, who grimaces in disgust once again but follows her example.

"Bye," Hana says as she jumps off Takashi's lap and drags him out the door.

"Bye," Kaori replies with a deep laugh.

Presently in Hotaru

The sun just barely peaks over the horizon and Sokka wakes up feeling disturbed and unsettled. Something just isn't right...

* * *

_Author's notes- _

_Again biggest thanks to Alaburn for being a fantastic beta. You're the best. I would also like to thank ONE- who was guest but reviewed, I really appreciate the review and I know this story was pretty predictable in the begining but at least you find it interesting now. And thank you to everyone else who has reviewed, your reviews give me the push I need to keep updating this often, the joy I feel when I see them is unfathomable. The faves and follows also give me much needed encouragement._

_Alright, time to explain some more things. _

_According to the Avatar Wiki, the name Yakone is Ahtna Athabascan (which is a referrence for the languages spoken by native peoples in Alaska, Western Canada and the Western US) for "Red Aurora" but can also be translated as "blood spray on the snow". Kaska, Dichali and Halona are also names from this group, specifically Nahanni Tribe/Group. Again- for those that give a damn, I chose these specific names for a reason, their meanings should explain everything. _

_Next- this is AU after all- so I felt I could take a leap with the whole spirit/possessing thing and the blending of bending. I know only the Avatar is to control all four elements, but I feel this is a special case so I 'bended' the rules, yes, the pun is intended. _

_And Layla. Ha! She lives! Thanks to Alaburn actually, I was really torn between just killing her or at least maiming her but Alaburn fought for her so thus, she lives to kick ass another day. And she's a politician after all, they all have skeletons in the closet and less then reputable connections, her's just happen to be related._

_Oh and YAKONE, as a Noatak fan, I always assumed he was the spitting image of his father so I imagined that there had to be a time before Yakone became the cold hearted bastard we all know and hate, that he was probably a decent guy but I'm sure his grandfather was a piece of work, his dad tried to break the cycle but Yakone came to feel the same way his grandfather felt, that Dichali was weak and Yakone needed to take over to make sure the Red Monsoon's had the strongest leader possible. Or at least that's what my imagination came up with so as Korra likes to say "you gotta deal with it." _

_So..I can't think of anything else I wish to explain... I hope you enjoyed reading. I dearly love and cherish all the faves, follows and especially the reviews. _

_If you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to message me, I won't hesitate to hand over a virtual box of Kleenex or Puffs, whichever you prefer. _


	12. I Have A Plan

Who Are You?

Chapter 11

Hotaru

"Sokka..." Kaori calls softly from the mirror on his dresser. The sun had just risen over the horizon, casting a glow across the room and onto the mirror and highlighting the spirit within. Sokka sits up in bed and looks around for the source of the voice, but sees no one.

"Sokka," Kaori calls again.

"Hello?" Sokka responds as he gets out of bed and opens his door, yet seeing no one out in the hallway either.

"The mirror, you idiot," Kaori replies, irritated.

"What the hell?" Sokka exclaims as he sees the spectral image in the mirror, nearly jumping out of his skin.

"Sit down," Kaori instructs as she gestures to the chair in front of the dresser and Sokka obediently follows the command.

"So...is this what you look like when you're not...possessing healers?" Sokka asks as he takes in her appearance, remembering those arctic blue eyes from the hospital when Toph had been injured.

"This is what I looked like when I was a mortal, yes. I'm here to apologize and ask for your help," Kaori starts as she looks at him expectantly.

"I'm listening," Sokka says warily.

"I need to apologize for everything that's happened over the last few months, especially for what's happened to your family. Your cousin didn't kill them you know, Takashi did. But he is a spirit like me, so I'm afraid he can't be brought to conventional justice. But I have a plan..." Kaori says with a knowing smirk.

On the Boat to Hotaru

"So what happened exactly?" Toph begins as she rests against the railing of the boat.

"A spirit named Kaori possessed Mei and woke me up only moments before Azula and Takashi came to the house to assassinate me. Which if she had succeeded would have been disastrous. You know how many councils I not only sit through but also lead? It would have greatly upset the balance of the council and the entire Republic City. But she didn't and Kaori helped us fight them off. That's the only way we were able to survive. You know how powerful a bender Azula is. She had me cornered and purposefully added heat to the flames and directed them to my limbs, trying to increase my pain as much as she could before she took her kill shot. I've had the best healer I know work on me but it's going to take a great deal longer for me to fully heal. The scars are going to be on par with Zuko's I'd imagine," Layla admits with a bit of a chuckle despite her pain.

"You should have stayed home," Toph objects.

"And miss the chance to best Azula at her own game? Not a chance. I can only imagine what manipulative things she's done politically to Hotaru. To Sokka..." Layla laments sadly.

"If she laid a hand on him I will personally bury her in the side of a hill," Toph bites out, feeling her anger rise up inside her like a viper.

"She didn't. Kaori assured me that he hasn't given into her advances," Layla assures with pride, watching Toph visibly relax and sigh in relief.

"But that doesn't mean she hasn't filled his head with doubt. Right now Sokka thinks that his life is on Hotaru and he knows that your life is in Republic City. He thinks it will kill you on the inside if you were to step down and leave, which knowing you, would probably happen eventually. But Kaori informed me that she's trying to make everything right..." Layla says, hope clear in her voice.

Toph continues to stand silently as she tries to maintain her countenance.

"Hey, you can't let her win. The moment we step off this boat, you need to show Sokka exactly _**why**_ he would be wrong for thinking he could ever give you up. You two were meant to be together and anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool," Layla encourages as she places a motherly arm around Toph, who usually didn't care to be touched but allows the gesture. "So you just worry about Sokka and I will take care of getting him off Hotaru. It will all be alright; you'll see."

"How do you know?" Toph asks.

"I just know. Let's leave it at that," Layla answers her with a confident smile as she looks out over the ocean. They would be on Hotaru within a couple of hours. The wind and the current were both working with the boat in perfect unison, as if the gods themselves were pulling them to their destination.

148 years ago.

"It happened! I'm pregnant!" Hana cries as she bounds into Kaori's house.

"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you! Have you told Takashi yet?" Kaori asks.

"No, I wanted to make doubly sure before I did, but I haven't had my bleeding in over two months! Is there anything we can do? Like some kind of test or whatever?" Hana questions anxiously.

"Oh sure, but it will take a few days for the results. Can you wait that long?"

"I've waited this long, plus I really really want to make sure I don't disappoint Takashi by telling him I'm pregnant but have it end up just being a fluke," Hana explicates nervously.

"I'm sure it's not a fluke. But you need to stop taking those herbs now that you think you're pregnant. I'm not sure if they would be harmful to the baby or not, but most women haven't taken them like you have." Kaori deliberates as she searches for the ingredients for the test. She stops when she looks over at her friend and catches the sight of her pale, stricken features.

"Wh… wh… what if it does hurt the baby?" Hana trembles in a small, terrified voice.

Kaori curses at herself under her breath for being so thoughtless with her words.

"I'm sure the baby will be fine and I'm sure you will be fine, okay? Don't worry about it," Kaori attempts to back pedal, but Hana was already assuming the worst.

"Hana, listen to me. You will be fine. Everything will be okay. Please don't worry," Kaori stresses as she finishes preparing the test and prepares to administer it.

Hotaru

"...So that's what you need to do," Kaori finishes.

"Got it," Sokka replies as he gets up and begins to get dressed. Kaori vanishes from the mirror to give him privacy and also to possess a maid to make things ready for Toph and Layla's arrival.

Sokka leaves his room and orders for Azula to be kept to her quarters and not let anyone who came with her to leave. He then goes to take out and examine every legal document Azula ever touched or even just influenced. His stomach falls when he sees Azula's insignia on every last bit of it. Azula had told him that the symbol was simply to convey her approval of the form, but now Sokka knew better. It was a seal signifying that if the contract or law were to be broken in any way, everything outlined and discussed in the document fell under the control and jurisdiction of Azula herself. Sokka had unwittingly handed Hotaru over to her.

He summons his father and shows him the evidence of what Azula had done. They both rack their brains, trying to figure how to undo the damage, but they only come up blank. They were completely and utterly screwed.

"I can't believe how stupid we were," his father groans.

"We trusted a psychopath; that's where we went wrong. Lesson learned. However, Layla will be here soon and she'll help us get out of this," Sokka assures.

"I hope she is as good as you say she is," his father rejoins.

"She's better. Layla has been dealing with this sort of jargon for who knows how long, and she's the only person I would ever trust when it comes to things like this. She's also been like a mother to me back in Republic City," Sokka recalls fondly.

"Well it's nice to know you think of me so affectionately, son," Layla announces from the doorway with a grin. Sokka nearly jumps out of his skin for the second time that day at the surprise of seeing his adopted mom and girlfriend in his house.

"Toph!" Sokka exclaims as he stands up and swoops Toph into his arms and whispers something in her ear to which she nods fervently. He pulls away and performs quick introductions between the two women and his father before Layla suggests they go somewhere else to 'catch up', trying to be subtle. Sokka nods in confirmation and grins before dragging Toph away to his room.

The door is barely closed before Toph leans up on her tip toes and pulls him down to claim his mouth with her own. Sokka doesn't hesitate to pick her up, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist as he pins her to the door.

"I'm so sorry, Toph. I should have come back to you by now," Sokka rasps in her ear as he plants kisses down her neck before sucking on her pulse point in the crook of her neck and shoulder, causing her to gasp and fist her hands into his hair that she was trying to loosen out of his braid.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," Toph responds before biting his ear and smiling at the hiss she receives as his hands travel to the fastenings of her armor.

"Allow me, my warrior," she whispers as she pushes him back and places her feet on the floor before bending her armor off, she smiles wickedly as Sokka lowly growls at seeing her like this. Her hair is down, her face is flushed, her lips are swollen and his love bite is already starting to color on her neck, there needs to be words other then perfect, beautiful and damn sexy to describe his goddess before him. Toph then leaps back into his arms before he settles them onto his bed.

Meanwhile, back in the Chief's office...

"Chief Miro, I understand that the recent losses to your family were unusually great, and I'm sure it will take a long time to heal from all the wounds, but with all due respect, didn't anyone look into this symbol or at least wonder why Princess Azula would suddenly be so interested in Hotaru's well-being? She has a reputation for being ruthless for a reason. You have effectively handed Hotaru over to her on a silver platter. As it stands right now, she already owns over half the nation. I can't reverse that. You only have two options: submit to Azula enslaving Hotaru, or make a motion to elect a new Chief, and it cannot be Sokka since his signature is on these forms as well. The most feasible option would have to be one of Sokka's cousins, even though they are all female. That's the only way to get out of this. At least with Sokka's cousins it would still be kept within the family and your father's wishes can still be honored. And even then it will only be able to protect what Azula has not yet taken control of," Layla informs Sokka's father, knowing there were no other options.

"What about what Azula has taken over?" Chief Miro inquires.

"Your only hope there is when and if she dies childless. The way she has this written, it wouldn't go to Zuko or any other family member, but back to whoever the Chief of Hotaru is at the time of her death. But you are in luck there; one of the reasons why Chief Beifong and I are here is to arrest Azula for her crimes. Not only for attempting to kill me and my daughter, thus the burns you see all over me, but also for killing Toph's right hand man, Deputy Ling. It was quite gruesome..." Layla elaborates further, leaving the Chief pale and sickened.

146 years ago.

Kaori sits on the edge of the same cliff that her friend threw herself from only a couple of years before, pondering the idea of doing the same. The deal she had made with Kudokuten wasn't what she had thought it would be. It seemed simple. Easy even, but it wasn't. Not by a long shot.

Takashi had lost his way, his mind, and his soul when Hana killed herself. A fact which Kaori wanted to contest, but knew Takashi would kill her if he knew the truth. She thought letting him use her as a shoulder to cry on and a body to use occasionally would lessen the pain slightly, but it was no use. She would never be Hana, and she was a fool to think she could even begin to be a substitute. Takashi needed Hana. He truly was lost without her, and it was all Kaori's fault that Hana was gone. If only she could go back in time, but clearly she couldn't. So she had made a deal with a spirit to try and bring Hana back.

Hotaru

Sokka and Toph lie in his bed in a sweaty tangle of limbs as they fight to breathe.

"Let's agree to never go that long in between ever again. I don't think I could survive," Sokka says as he rolls off of her, feeling like every muscle in his body is sore, but in the best way possible.

"Agreed. Damn, Snoozles, I don't think I'll be able to figure out how to walk again," Toph purrs despite her exhaustion. She can feel his triumphant smile as he leans over to her kiss her again.

She wonders briefly how she has managed to live without him for...however long it's been. It feels like several lifetimes at this point. She would never confess it openly, but during his absence she may or may not have actually slept in her armor. It wasn't that it was even remotely comfortable, but because she missed the safe and secure feeling he gave her when he was around.

As if he was sharing her thoughts, he wraps his arms around her and murmurs tenderly, "I don't know how I survived here without you. Just having you with me makes me feel stronger."

"I'm sorry you've had to go through all this," she whispers to him sadly.

"The worst part now is Azula. If her plans work out the way she wants, she's going to end up completely owning Hotaru."

"We're not going to let that happen."

"I can't believe I was such an idiot_. You_ never would have trusted her."

"Sokka, quit blaming yourself. You've had to deal with the grief of losing members of your family and the stress of running a country you had no preparation for and Azula took advantage. She's conniving and just plain evil, but don't worry; you and I are taking her down."

She heard a low rumble in his chest. "Right now, I don't want to do anything but stay right where I am," he says, tucking her closer against him.

A sharp knock sounds at the door, causing Sokka to groan in anguish.

"Sokka, I hate to cut the fun time short but Azula is a faster healer then I thought. It's time," Layla declares from behind the door.

"Right, I've got to arrest that crazy bitch for killing Ling and attempting to kill your 'mom'." Toph states, her voice growing hard as she gathers the strength to stand and suit up again.

"I'm sorry beloved." Sokka mutters softly as he too gets dressed and securely ties his katana to his waist.

"You're not the one to be sorry, she is. Boy am I going to make her sorry," Toph snarls.

Now while Toph was usually the one all about operating by the books, procedure, and order, this was personal. It would be a miracle if Azula left this island alive and survived the voyage all the way back to Republic City.

"Alright, let's do this," Toph says as she punches the palm of her hand with her fist, opening the door and marching with Sokka and Layla to Azula's quarters.

Once they are past the guards and inside the room, Toph bends her cables at Azula who shrieks in surprise as Toph comes forward and snaps a very large, very heavy set of handcuffs around Azula's wrists.

"Princess Azula, you are under arrest for the murder of Deputy Ling as well as the attempted murder of Ambassador Layla. You're coming back with me to Republic City to answer the charges against you," Toph delivers evenly, trying desperately to resist burying her in the ground on the spot.

"Oh I don't think so," Azula replies calmly as she heats her hands and wrists so hot that they melt the metal off of her.

"I'm not going anywhere," Azula proclaims sharply as she crouches into a bending stance, blue fire dancing around her fists.

"I was hoping you would resist arrest..." Toph asserts with surprising glee.

* * *

_Author's notes-_

_Biggest thanks to Alaburn who continues to help me and beta this and just be the best person and friend ever. _

_So I know I promised a lot of you an epic fight scene but it's so massive I have to let it have it's own chapter. So hopefully some sexy Tokka will make up for it. _

_As usual I love all of you who read, fave, follow and recview because this wouldn't exist if you didn't, I am not even joking. You guys are awesome. Thank you._


	13. Fight For The Truth

Who Are You?

Chapter 12

Without warning, Takashi airbends the wall apart, allowing for an escape as he pulls Azula away with her guards following suit. Azula shoots a jet of blue fire at the ceiling as they exit, setting the house ablaze. Layla bends water to try and douse the flames but they travel through the structure faster than she can keep up with. As she battles the fire, Toph and Sokka follow Takashi and Azula out of the hole in the wall in fast pursuit.

Layla orders for the house to be evacuated, as well as the entire area of the city that Azula was currently turning into her own personal war zone. She then proceeds to bend an inordinate amount of water out of the nearest well and runs to help Toph and Sokka who were in in the midst of a heated battle with Azula, Takashi, and her guards on their own. As she makes her way over to the scene, Layla notices another woman airbending herself into the middle of the fight to join forces with the warrior and earthbender. Apparently Kaori was going to help more than she had previously thought. Layla smirks as she bends a portion of the water around her like armor and begins to lash out at their enemies. She uses another portion of the water to hail a storm of ice bolts down on Azula's guards, but unfortunately they are able to melt most of them before they can even do any damage.

"Damn," Layla mutters in frustration before getting struck by a sudden idea.

"Toph! Give me rock spikes above your head!" Layla yells out amid the commotion.

Toph stomps the ground, and a dozen forearm-sized spikes shoot up into the air from the ground around Toph. Layla utilizes her remaining water to envelop the spikes above Toph's head and begins to bend the water in a circling arc around her frame in a wild cyclone, going faster and faster until it is simply a blur of earth within the water. Layla then bends the water immediately surrounding the spikes to bond to them within the stream of fast flowing water, forming a smooth ice covering to make them look like spear heads.

Kaori looks up, perceiving what it is Layla is planning to do and shouts at her, "Layla! Let it fly!"

Layla releases the cyclone into a ribbon of rapidly moving water containing ice covered spears within directly at Takashi, Azula, and her guards. Kaori airbends the ice covered spikes out of the flow, twisting them to fly like bullets through the air, guiding them to their targets.

In unison, all of Azula's guards drop dead at once, spikes of rock and ice half hanging out of their skulls. Takashi, however, had miraculously been able to push the spikes away from Azula and himself at the last moment via airbending, leaving only the two of them against Toph, Sokka, Layla and Kaori.

148 Years Ago

Hana stands at the bottom of the stairwell, watching warily as Kaori attempts to descend the steps with an overloaded laundry basket.

"You know, if you took two trips you wouldn't have to risk your life trying to navigate the stairs while being unable to see where you're going over your own laundry pile, or better yet, you could just do your laundry more often," Hana chastises.

"So scolds the perfect housewife," Kaori quips, trying to keep her a tight grip on the basket.

"Ha!" Hana barks back with a laugh as she eyes her friend's unsteady footing before asking, "When will we have the results of the pregnancy test again?"

"Tomorr-AAAH!" Kaori screams as she slips and tumbles with a crashing fall into her friend at the bottom of the stairs, the heavy basket coming down right on Hana's belly.

"Oh shit!" Kaori screeches as she pulls back the basket and starts to apologize repeatedly as Hana curls into herself and cries out in pain. Kaori silently prays she didn't just hurt the baby by being careless and stupid.

Almost immediately, Hana begins violently throwing up, instigating Kaori to get her to the bathroom. As Hana continues to retch painfully, Kaori holds her hair and is startled to see a line of blood trailing from the bottom of the stairs to the bathroom. She looks down and stops breathing at the sight of even more blood pooling beneath her friend. Kaori suddenly realizes what just happened. She has just caused Hana to miscarry. _Shit, fuck, shit, fuck, fuck, shit, shit,fuck SHIT! FUCK!_ It was the one thing Hana had wanted and waited for her whole life, and with one stupid, stubborn mistake Kaori had taken it away. _It's all your fault._

Shaking uncontrollably, Hana looks down and sees the blood, causing her to throw up again, only this time with heartbroken sobs. She doesn't stop sobbing until the early hours of the morning. Kaori holds her all night long, never moving from her bathroom floor and never leaving her side. They weep together until they both eventually collapse from exhaustion.

At sunrise, Kaori wakes to finds herself alone on her bathroom floor. She panics and gets up, calling for Hana only to be greeted by silence. Kaori's eyes sweep over to her mantel and she spots the pregnancy test with the concluding result: positive. She feels the tears welling in her eyes as her panic deepens and she steps outside into the pounding rain. _'Maybe she went to Takashi_,' she hopes, soon discovering how wrong she was. It's just light enough that she can see Hana in her still bloodstained dress at the edge of the cliff, a half mile from her house.

Kaori's heart drops. Hana wouldn't, she couldn't, can't...what about Takashi? Would Hana really leave him all alone in this world?

_'It's all your fault,'_ runs through Kaori's head again as she runs as fast as her legs can carry her, screaming and yelling, "No!" She even airbends her way to her friend as fast as she can, but just as she gets within an arm's reach... Hana jumps.

_It's all your fault._

Hotaru

Toph earthbends a wall of rock up from the ground, shielding Sokka just moments before Azula's flames eat him alive but the flames bounce off and hit her square in the chest, melting not only her added rock armor but the metal armor underneath, she screams as she bends it off of herself before it burns her flesh but it also leaves her wide open for another assault, Kaori steps in and airbends a shield in front of both of them, sheilding them from oncoming wave of fire before Kaori steps forward and encases both Azula and her flames within a large sphere.

"Without _**air **_there is no _**fire**_." Kaori grunts out as she tries to suffocate Azula, but Takashi airbends Kaori away into one of the rock walls, the impact crushing the air out of Kaori's lungs.

Sokka pitches his boomerang around the edge of the barrier, hoping it will strike Azula. Upon hearing a pained grunt, he peers out from behind the rock to see that he had actually managed to hit Takashi, leaving a deep gash on his shoulder which was now seeping a dark stain onto his shirt. Sokka jumps out and takes a swing at Takashi with his katana, but Takashi ducks and sends a searing hand into his back, pounding into his kidney and causing Sokka to stumble onto a knee as he tries to remember how to breathe.

Kaori recovers and sends a blast of air at Takashi's head before he could do anything else to Sokka, while Azula does exceptionally well at fighting off both Toph and Layla with her crazed firebending. However, she is unaware of Layla discreetly herding the two fighters away from the city and toward the cliffs. She does this with the intention of lessening the damage already done to Hotaru as well as to hopefully give Toph the chance to earthbend Azula off the side of the cliff.

"We could stop this you know," Kaori says breathlessly as Takashi pins her to one of the rock walls.

"You can't stop what's already started," Takashi bites out as Kaori struggles against him.

"Even for Hana?" Kaori queries in a deadly whisper, leaning her face closer to his as she stares at him intently.

He falters just long enough for her to succeed in pushing him away from her. He stares at her in shock for a moment before airbending Sokka away in a sudden, powerful blast of wind.

"What do you mean for Hana?" Takashi demands.

"You asked me at the ball what I did. What I was guilty of..." Kaori begins.

148 Years Ago.

"Remember our agreement," Kudokuten repeats as she sees Takashi running toward them. The spirit disappears, leaving Kaori sitting alone on the edge of the cliff.

"Kaori? Have you seen Hana?" Takashi asks; panic lacing the edges of his voice.

Kaori stands and faces him with her pale, trembling form and tear swollen eyes and throws herself into Takashi's arms. "I'm so so so sorry, Takashi. She miscarried and..."

Kaori begins breaking into sobs again as Takashi firmly grabs hold of her shoulders and stares her in the eye. "What do you mean miscarried?" he demands.

"Hana was pregnant, but last night she miscarried the baby and... and..." Kaori utters around choking sobs as she gestures to the cliff.

As if in a trance, Takashi lets go of her and takes the few steps to the cliff face. He stands frozen at the edge of the sheer drop as he looks down at all that is left of his wife. The red of the blood perceptibly contrasts against the black of the rocks and the dark blues and green of the ocean. What little self-control he previously had keeping his emotions in check was obliterated.

"Why didn't she tell me?!" he roars, sounding more like a wounded beast than a man.

"She wanted to be sure. She had me run a test and we only got the result this morning... but I… she lost the baby before we could even see it. I stayed with her all night, but when I woke this morning she was gone. I hoped she had gone to you but..." Kaori struggles as she tries to explain, knowing she can't tell him more than that. She watches him carefully, hoping beyond hope that he won't decide to join Hana on the jagged rocks below.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers as she slowly edges up next to him, placing a tentative hand on his tense back.

"Just...leave me alone," he mutters back in a strained whisper, not taking his eyes away from the horrific sight.

"But I don't want-"

"I won't jump," Takashi cuts her off. "Just leave," he repeats harshly.

Kaori nods, turning away slowly and trudging back to her house. She cleans up the blood and laundry but is unable to do little more than that. She collapses on her couch and is in the middle of a fitful doze when a knock at the door disturbs her.

"Takashi," Kaori greets, opening the door to him and ushering him inside. Her heart goes out to him as she takes in his appearance. He looks like hell.

"Do you still have the test?" he asks, his voice resembling gravel.

Kaori nods and leads him over to her mantel.

"Blue means pregnant," Kaori says softly, keeping her gaze on the ground as her shame stops her from looking at him in the eye.

Takashi picks up the small jar and gazes at its contents with deadened eyes as the blue liquid sloshes within. Without a word, he sets it back down and leaves.

She doesn't see him again until three days later, starved, beaten to a bloody pulp, and nearly dead.

Hotaru

"What if I told you that you could have Hana back? What would you give to get Hana back, just the way she was?" Kaori says as she prevents him from throwing another blast at Sokka.

"It's not possible," Takashi fires back. "I would know. I've tried."

"Not everything," Kaori counters as she propels herself toward him and knocks him to the ground.

"Why are you even bringing her up?! Don't you think I've suffered enough?!" he thunders, making the others pause to look at the two of them.

"And you don't think I've suffered?!" She screams back.

"How could your pain ever possibly compare to mine?" he sneers.

"Because I killed Hana!" she admits, the weight of her confession causing her to fall to her hands and knees.

"She killed herself," he argues back in confusion.

Kaori shakes her head, tears streaming down her face. "For the last century and a half I have been working _tirelessly_ to fix what my actions have cost you. What they cost her. In all this time you have never asked _**HOW**_ she lost the baby..." Kaori sobs, pushing herself up to sit on her knees.

"Who the hell cares?!" Azula interrupts as she lights her fists again.

Takashi snaps his attention to her and clenches his hand into a vein-popping fist in her direction as his eyes go from violet to blazing red. Azula suddenly drops to her knees as she finds herself unable to breathe. Takashi is bending the air around her throat like a vice, and she can feel her trachea start to crack as she tries to wriggle out of the invisible hold.

"You will remain silent, Princess," Takashi orders in a dark, cold voice before releasing her, causing her to spill onto the ground and gasp for air like a fish out of water.

"How?" Takashi asks as he turns his attention back to Kaori.

"She was at the bottom of the stairs and I was coming down, carrying a load of laundry that was far too big, and she told me so but I didn't listen. I was stubborn and I fell on her. _I_ made her miscarry." Kaori recalls solemnly as she tries to stand. "Since it was so hard for her to conceive that one, she must have figured it would be impossible to conceive again. I don't think she could find the strength to face you and tell you what had happened, even though it was my fault. I'm so sorry. So very, very sorry.

"But the spirit, Kudokuten made a covenant with me that very day. If I entered into her service and helped her bring people together to find happiness, she would bring Hana back to you. But then you got lost. You went down the darkest path possible. Hana can't come back until _**you**_ come back and return to being the man she fell in love with. So I ask you again, what will you give up to have Hana back? Would you give up Azula for her?"

"Yes," Takashi replies in an instant.

"No!" Azula screeches. "You could rule the world with me! You can be the richest and most powerful man that has ever walked the earth and need for nothing!"

"All of that, including you, is nothing but chaff in the wind compared to my Hana," Takashi responds, his voice deceptively steady and calm.

Takashi turns back to Kaori. "What do I have to do?" he asks.

"Give up your end of the cardinal protection of Azula and allow me to have her body for my possession. Kudokuten will bring Hana back the way she was, but with her body blessed this time. You have been in that body too long already, your tattoos are nearly permanent on your host's skin, so you might as well keep it. Please Takashi, end this," Kaori pleads.

"You can't do this to me!" Azula screams, lightening dancing around her body as her face contorts with rage.

"You've done it to yourself," Takashi states without sympathy. "She's all yours," he says to Kaori, gesturing to the rampant princess.

"Thank you," Kaori says before her host's eyes fade back to normal.

They all watch as Azula begins to struggle as she fights the oncoming possession. Only one of Azula's eyes turn blue, the other retaining its golden color as Azula convulses, striking herself and lighting her own clothes and hair on fire. She begins to cry out in anguish and frustration as she feels the control of her own body slipping away from her. In her frenzied mania, she starts shooting off lightning in random directions, filling the air with zapping flashes of deadly electricity.

Takashi, Layla, and Sokka drop to the ground to avoid the wild bolts, but Toph remains standing, unknowingly leaving herself in the line of fire. Sokka looks up just as one lightning bolt comes perilously close to striking her.

"_**No!**_**"** he shouts in terror, jumping up from the safety of the ground to hurl himself at her. He grabs her with both arms and drags her down, completely shielding her slight form with his muscular one.

"What's happening?!" Toph demands in alarm.

Sokka answers the best he can amid the chaos, "I'm not sure. Azula's fighting being possessed or something, and she's going crazy with her lightning. I won't let her hurt you."

"Don't jeopardize yourself for me! Let me go!"

"Never," he responds resolutely.

"Get out!" Azula screeches into the air as she begins to move toward the edge of the cliff, still fighting for control of her body and still bending fire and lightning haphazardly. It seems to the people around her that there is no end to the destruction she will create to have everything in accordance with her scheming desires.

Kaori continues with single-minded determination in her battle with Azula, attempting to subdue the fire and lightning that is still storming from her hands. In one instant, she finally gains control of Azula's voice. "Toph! Make me fall!" she manages to cry out from Azula's body.

"My pleasure," Toph says as she and Sokka rise from their position on the ground.

She lands a precise stomp to the rocky terrain, which is followed by a resounding rumble in the earth around the precipice. A giant chunk of the cliff crumbles and falls, taking Azula with it. Half way down, Kaori succeeds in taking over Azula completely. She smiles right before impact with a single thought whispering in her mind, "_**Finally, I have peace**_."

* * *

_Author's notes-_

_Biggest thanks to Alaburn for being the best beta ever. _

_Thank you to everyone who reads, faves, follows and especially reviews._

_So I would like to apologize, this fight scene looked amazing and epic in my head and I've tried to convey it but, I'm still not completely happy with it, I feel like it's a shade of what I imagined but I've tried. Also I would also like to point out that the inspiration for the whole ice rock dagger thing was LoK when Tahno swept up the broken disc in his water and blasted it at his opponent. But as you can see, I punched it up a notch, tad, whatever. _

_But now we see why Takashi lost his shit, I mean, that kind of thing really breaks people you know? And just so you know, he ain't getting off the hook that easy. Kudokuten has another thing waiting for him. _

_Sorry this took FOREVER to get to you but life threw me a curve ball. Life does that from time to time, it sucks._

_So yeah...I look forward to hearing from you all, the death threats are still welcome, actually I kind of expect them at this point lol. _


	14. Endgame and Epilogue

Who Are You?

Chapter 13

After Azula disappears down the rocky cliff, an eerie quiet settles over those still remaining on the plateau. Everyone turns to look expectantly at the woman Kaori had previously possessed, waiting in silence for Kaori to once again revisit the body, but nothing about the disoriented girl changes.

"What?" she asks, confused as to why everyone is staring at her.

"Where's Kaori?" Takashi asks warily.

"She is dead," an ethereal voice suddenly echoes in the air around them. Kudokuten appears in the midst of the small gathering and begins to explain Kaori's absence. "Dead in human terms, that is. She has finally passed on from this world and onto the next. What did you think you were agreeing to, Takashi? Kaori owed two lives; Hana and the baby. In order to repair the balance, two lives needed to be sacrificed; Kaori and Azula. How is it that none of you comprehend the simplicity of the matter?"

"Wait, what? Did I just kill a spirit?" Toph asks, horrified at the revelation.

"In principal, you aided in her suicide, but their blood is not on your hands, Earthbender," Kudokuten answers dismissively in Toph's direction. "You, however..." Kudokuten begins pointedly as she walks over and stands defiantly in front of Takashi. "You have the blood of many on your hands, and much to atone for before you receive the reward Kaori's death has won for you. So I propose a pact," she voices solemnly as she looks down her nose at him.

"I'm listening," Takashi replies cautiously.

"You are charged with the mission to dissolve Azula's empire and to undo the plans she had in place to assassinate her brother Zuko. Also, for every life you have ruined and ended before their time, you will bring two more together to find happiness, starting with the Warrior and the Earthbender. You will make sure they get home safely, with no reproach or loss of honor on either side. In accordance, every time you succeed in bringing two people together, you will have one day and one night with Hana until you have completely atoned for the evils you have committed. When you are finished, you and Hana will be together, and you will be blessed with more children than you had ever imagined possible. When the time comes, the two of you will die old and gray and sleeping peacefully in each other's embrace and you will return to each other in every lifetime afterward. Those are my terms. You are free to agree to them or not. You've tried countless times to get Hana back, only to be met with failure at every attempt. At least with my offer, you are guaranteed of her return should you comply with my conditions."

Kudokuten smiles haughtily as she holds out her hand for him to shake. "Do we have a deal?" she asks as she arches an eyebrow.

"We have a deal," Takashi responds firmly as he shakes her hand.

As their palms touch, a blinding light flashes from within their clasped hands and he feels an indefinable force leave him. An odd pain spreads through him, leaving him feeling hollow and empty.

"What the hell just happened?" Takashi demands as he wrenches his hand from her hold.

"Your soul, your spirit, your life force - is no longer your own. It belongs to me now. You will get it back when you've finished your tasks. Think of it as my assurance that you will not waver from our arrangement," Kudokuten explains as she watches the glow in her palm seep into her skin with mild amusement.

"I see..." Takashi replies as he eyes her suspiciously.

"Well my work here is done..." Kudokuten proclaims as she begins walking away and mists into nothing.

"Anyone else creeped out?" Sokka divulges suddenly.

Layla just shakes her head and takes Takashi by the arm. "You're coming with me," she informs him stiffly before turning her attention to Sokka again.

"Son, get Toph inside and to a healer. I believe she has a few burns that need attention."

"I'm fine, but I can feel the damage Azula has done to Hotaru from here. You're going to need my help in the rebuilding before you leave," Toph tells Sokka as they both limp back to the half burned-down town.

"Before I leave?" Sokka repeats as he puts his arm around her waist to steady her.

"Well, duh, why do you think Azula did what she did? She wanted to separate us, but Layla's here to fix that. And you heard the creepy spirit, Takashi has to make sure we get home safely, and my home is in Republic City with you in it," Toph explains as if it was the clearest thing in the world. And people called _her_ blind.

"But what about Hotaru? I really can't leave them now," Sokka argues.

"Ye of little faith," Toph retorts with a grin. "What would you say if Layla was able to get one of your female cousins to take over? Part of what made Azula so powerful is that her people embraced change. I'm sure if Hotaru did the same, they could only benefit," she adds, trying to sound encouraging.

"We'll see," Sokka answers while pondering her words.

Two weeks later Sokka and Toph are setting sail back to Republic City. After Toph had recovered from the majority of her injuries, she helped rebuild Hotaru, which was significantly benefited by her incomparable earthbending. Layla assisted Takashi in undoing Azula's empire as well as foil Azula's plot to murder her brother. Layla also took Sokka's female cousins under her proverbial wing to show them how to navigate and succeed in the political arena.

One night, after the couple had returned to Republic City and had settled down again, Sokka finds himself rubbing Toph's feet after a particularly rough day.

"You are no longer my boyfriend; I think you are some wonderful, benevolent god that has come and taken over Sokka's hands because this shouldn't feel this good," Toph praises as she stretches out further on the couch.

Sokka just chuckles at her antics and continues to rub away.

"Seriously, who are you and what have you done with Snoozles?" Toph asks with a grin before she feels Sokka shift and put her feet down. She frowns and prepares to whine in protest when suddenly she feels his soft breath on her face.

"I'm yours," Sokka whispers before he kisses her again, as if to assure her against any doubt she could possibly ever have.

* * *

_Author's notes-_

_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDDDDD DDD we're done. Puffs or Kleenex?_

_Big thanks to my girl Alaburn for being my beta. You amazing woman you. Because not only do you beta my story, you add your amazingness to it AND THEN you review it once I post it, I die of happiness from your feedback alone. _

_Thanks to tissine for allowing me to use her wonderful art as my cover image, it is also what inspired this fic to begin with. _

_But the biggest thanks goes to you readers. The faves, the follows and especially the reviews, it was my fuel to keep going. If it wasn't for you guys, this would still only be a one shot, nothing more then the prologue. _

_So I would like to thank each of you that have done so-_

_Da'Ink, TokkawhoinventBeastlyRavens, ArtisAnExplosion 27, carolin. brenholdt, feliipsun, PrincessRae 1230, P. Rose205, MarCo03, Fruipit, emcateer90, justcallmehermione, PurpleFluffCloudOfDoom, bennica lover45, MrJanzz, fearless forever 98, NeverendingDaydreams, LadyleFreak, Labundidaciega, Thunderthighs, cliniquehappy, KrRcksmySx, reinachrist, Roovialk253, Zonna, lexiibri, Kerriss-Singer-of-Light, Anbu-chan, Bloodshot111, boomeranggirl, and the 'guests' one and Funny Bunny. _

_If I misspelled your name, sorry, if I added a space in the wrong place, that was on purpose because FFN is weird. _

_So again, thank you to everyone for everything. Could not have done it without you. _

_Goodbye my friends. _


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